Archive: 2015

Why does VHD (RHD) pose such a risk to wild rabbits?

Despite their legendary reproductive capabilities, rabbit populations can nonetheless be decimated by the spread of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (also known as viral hemorrhagic disease, VHD). RHD (type 1) was first reported in the Netherlands in the 1990s when it caused a massive dent in some wild rabbit
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New case of scabies in a fox in Limburg

In November 2015 a fox was submitted to the DWHC for post-mortem exam. The fox came from an area in which numerous foxes with mange-like signs had been seen  including five others in 2015 alone. A case of scabies (mange caused by the Sarcoptes mite) had been confirmed in a fox from this area in 2014.
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Grey seals prey on harbour porpoises

The mystery of the severely wounded harbour porpoises has been solved thanks to researchers working at the University of Utrecht Veterinary School’s Pathology Department in conjunction Imares Wageningen UR and the NIOZ. Microscopic analysis of the bite wounds showed that the porpoises were alive when the
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Common minke whale carcase found on ship’s bow in Rotterdam harbour

Post-mortem was performed on a common minke whale at the University of Utrecht after it was found dead on the bow of a ship in Rotterdam harbour. The cadaver was relatively fresh suggesting that it had only been picked up by the boat shortly before it arrived at Rotterdam. Provisional findings point towards the
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Red squirrels dying from toxoplasmosis

Researchers at the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre (DWHC) working together with members of the Zoogdiervereniging (Dutch organisation for the research and conservation of native mammals) and the RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), have confirmed that more than half of the squirrels that
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Greylag goose with gout

In June an inhabitant of the Dutch Wadden Sea Island of Schiermonnikoog spotted a greylag goose that was behaving oddly and distanced from the other birds. The goose was culled and due to the poor nutritional status of the animal and the unusual appearance of lumps on its legs the carcase was submitted to the DWHC
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Tularemia also found in hares in Gelderland

Tularemia in hares Tularemia has been identified in a hare from the Dutch province of Gelderland that was submitted to the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre (DWHC) in June 2015 for post-mortem exam. Since 2011, all dead hares received by the DWHC are routinely tested by the Central Veterinary Institute for the bacteria
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Don’t touch bats with your bare hands!

In May 2015 a bat that had been submitted to the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre (DWHC) for post-mortem investigation proved to be positive for the bat form of rabies after further testing was carried out at the Central Veterinary Institute (CVI) in Lelystad. This disease is caused by the European Bat Lyssa Virus
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