Epidemiology of naturally occurring rotavirus infection in rabbits.

The epidemiology of naturally acquired rotavirus infection in commercial rabbitries was studied. Antibody titers to rotavirus were determined by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Studies of antibody levels over time within individual rabbit litters and in a colony of rabbits of different ages showed that transplacentally derived maternal antibodies had declined to low levels by about one month of age. More than half of the 88 rabbits 1 to 2 months of age had antibody titers of less than 1/100. All 98 rabbits over 2 months old had titers above 1/100 and 83 had titers over 1/1000. Rotavirus was detected in 25% of diarrheic feces and in 10% of normal feces.