2.1 Case presentation
In July 2020, a small rabbit farm (Aljustrel, South Portugal) of one
adult male (two years old), two adult males (one year old), one adult
female (one year old) and two juveniles (5 months old) European rabbits,
developed signs compatible with myxomatosis. The six rabbits presented
clinical signs of disease on the same day.
The adult male (two years old) showed slight signs of illness, with very
slight swelling of the eyelid and slight serous discharge, recovering
from disease in around one week. After the disappearing of the clinical
signals, a blood sample was collected from this rabbit by jugular
venepuncture (Abade dos Santos et al., 2019) to evaluate the serological
response to MYXV infection using the CIVTEST Cuni Myxomatosis Kit
(Hipra) according with manufacturer indications. The other five animals
died 24-48 hours after the symptoms onset, which included oedema of the
eyelids (Fig.1), base of the ears and genitals, dyspnoea and anorexia.
Small myxomas at the base of the ear were present in one of the rabbits
(Fig. 2).