Unapproved movement of rabbit control viruses and their enduring international repercussions  


  • Note that both the rabbit control viruses (myxomatosis or rabbit hemorrhagic disease viruses that are currently in global circulation are not lab-modified, they are natural isolates. They are however useful to consider here,  in that they likely represent the maxima in terms of transmissibility (the capacity to be self-spreading) of lab-modified viruses used for applied applications.  It is unlikely that lab-modified self-spreading viruses will exceed myxomatosis or rabbit hemorrhagic disease in terms of their long-term persistence and predictability of their effect in the enviroment (neither of which is entirely uniform).


The history of the  vast majority of transboundary movement (particularly in Europe) of rabbit control viruses are unapproved / illegal.

Taken from Angulo, E., and B. Cooke. “First Synthesize New Viruses Then Regulate Their Release? The Case of the Wild Rabbit.” Molecular Ecology 11, no. 12 (December 1, 2002): 2703–9. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01635.x.



New Zealand 

  • As far as precedents  for responsibility or claims of compensation for an escaped virus it is notable that New Zealand never asked or received compensation for the illegal transportation from Australia of the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus into its territory in 1997 . 
  • Below are quotes  from a  concise and  insightful  (open-access) analysis of  the consequences and lessons of the illegal introduction of the virus  by the  Former deputy director general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of New Zealand, written 10 years after the events.


Spain

The program of Spanish researchers to successfully develop, field test and attempt to commercially licence a lab-modified self-spreading vaccine to protect wild rabbits in Spain (where rabbits are naturally present) is a direct response of the unapproved movement of myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease viruses across their border (see maps above).

It is appears that in Australia (where the presence of  myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease is viewed positively in terms of their role in controlling their non-native  rabbits), the Spanish efforts were viewed with concern, when market authorisation was sought from the European Medical Authority (as “Lapinvac-F1” or “ISPANVAC”)

"The steps taken to commercialise this product for use in Europe currently do not involve discussions with other countries, such as Australia, in which the release of such a product could adversely affect efforts to minimise rabbit numbers and their damage to the environment."

Tyndale-Biscoe, Hugh, and Lyn A. Hinds. “Introduction – Virally Vectored Immunocontraception in Australia.” Wildlife Research 34, no. 7 (2007): 507–10. https://doi.org/10.1071/WRv34n7_IN.

This quote again appears to acknowledge a degree of inevitability about unapproved movement of self-spreading viruses --in this case a laboratory generated vaccine—. Appearing to illustrate  how ones groups self-sustaining solution can be another's enduring nightmare.  

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