Rabbitry and Emerging Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus in Nigeria: A Concern for Food Safety and Security

Abstract

For many decades, small-scale livestock, including rabbit production, has been a veritable pro-poor poverty alleviation venture in Africa.  With the rising population and increasing demand for food, the need to introduce and expand small-scale rabbit farms for long-term  sustainability cannot be overemphasized. While increasing the production and commercialization of domestic rabbit production is  desirable, the intensification of livestock also comes with some animal health problems. One of these is the emergence of Rabbit  Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) caused by Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV). The virus causes sudden death in rabbits, and does  not yet pose any public health risk. Symptoms of RHD may include: loss of appetite, lethargy, high fever, seizures, jaundice, bleeding from  natural orifices, difficulty in breathing and sudden death. The first known outbreak of RHD in Nigeria was reported in September  2020 at rabbit farms in Kwara and Oyo States,in Nigeria. Despite several intervention strategies, the disease has continued to spread  across the country. In this review, we search literature on the current state and knowledge of RHD as it affects rabbits and the economic  impact on livelihood and animal health implication of this emerging viral disease on rabbit farms in Nigeria.