Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42802706›Full record

ArticleTransboundary and emerging diseases2026

Outbreak of an Emerging Recombinant of Myxoma Virus ha-MYXV in European Brown Hares (Lepus europaeus) in Austria.

Angelika Auer, Sarah Kugler, Melina Papadopoulos, Katharina Dimmel, Janina Steiner, Joachim Spergser, Julia Reichl, Anna-Margarita Schötta, Hans-Peter Fuehrer, Georg Gerhard Duscher and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Transboundary and emerging diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Angelika AuerDepartment of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, Infectiology and Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinaerplatz 1, Vienna, Austria, vetmeduni.ac.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4790-9823
Sarah KuglerDepartment of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Savoyenstraße 1, Vienna, Austria, vetmeduni.ac.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1140-3827
Melina PapadopoulosDepartment of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, Infectiology and Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinaerplatz 1, Vienna, Austria, vetmeduni.ac.at.
Katharina DimmelDepartment of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, Infectiology and Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinaerplatz 1, Vienna, Austria, vetmeduni.ac.at.
Janina SteinerDepartment of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Savoyenstraße 1, Vienna, Austria, vetmeduni.ac.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2702-6430
Joachim SpergserDepartment of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, Microbiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinaerplatz 1, Vienna, Austria, vetmeduni.ac.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0164-0179
Julia ReichlInstitute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, AGES-Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Vienna, Austria, ages.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6165-689X
Anna-Margarita SchöttaInstitute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, AGES-Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Vienna, Austria, ages.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9679-2916
Hans-Peter FuehrerDepartment of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, Parasitology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinaerplatz 1, Vienna, Austria, vetmeduni.ac.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4178-0133
Georg Gerhard DuscherInstitute for Veterinary Disease Control Moedling, AGES-Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Moedling, Austria, ages.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3486-5470
Till RümenapfDepartment of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, Infectiology and Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinaerplatz 1, Vienna, Austria, vetmeduni.ac.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2951-7471
Anna Kübber-HeissDepartment of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Savoyenstraße 1, Vienna, Austria, vetmeduni.ac.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6096-3835

Funding

EU4Health Work Programme CP-g-22-04.01 (HaDEA) 101132974
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Myxomatosis, caused by the myxoma virus (MYXV), is a severe disease primarily affecting European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), with very high case fatality rates. Historically, MYXV was introduced to Europe and Australia in the 1950s to control rabbit populations, becoming endemic and undergoing genetic adaptations. In 2018, a novel recombinant variant, hare-adapted MYXV (ha-MYXV), emerged in Spain, causing significant declines in Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) populations. This study reports the first outbreak of ha-MYXV in Austria, severely affecting European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) and wild rabbits during 2025. Between March and November 2025, 272 hare and 12 rabbit carcasses were submitted for investigation. Pathological examinations revealed characteristic swelling and inflammation around the eyes, nose, and genital tract, accompanied by histological epithelial changes consistent with a poxvirus infection in 235 European brown hares and 10 wild rabbits from 89 municipalities in Austria. PCR analysis and cytopathic effects (CPEs) observed in rabbit kidney 13 (RK13) cell culture confirmed the presence of MYXV. Sequencing further identified a typical 2.8 kb M009L gene insertion, definitively linking the outbreak to the highly pathogenic ha-MYXV variant. The outbreak spread across Vienna, Lower Austria, and Burgenland, with hunters reporting hundreds of additional unsubmitted cases. The emergence of ha-MYXV in Austria highlights the virus's geographic expansion, possibly facilitated by human-mediated transport of infected animals or vectors. The outbreak also underscores the potential indirect One Health risks posed by coinfections with zoonotic bacteria in affected hares and emphasizes the need for enhanced surveillance, genomic analysis, more targeted screening of potential vectors, and cross-border collaboration to monitor the evolution and spread of ha-MYXV, mitigate its impact on wildlife populations, and address associated public health concerns.

Indexed as

Disease OutbreaksHaresMyxomatosis, InfectiousMyxoma virusPoxviridae InfectionsAnimalsAustriaFemaleRabbitsha-MYXVlagomorphsmyxomatosispoxvirusvectors

Identifiers

PMID42802706
PMCPMC13617394

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.