Australian citizen scientists urged to help track rabbit virus

STORY: Australian citizen scientists urged to help track rabbit virus SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 22, 2024 DATELINE: Feb. 22, 2024 LENGTH: 0:00:49 LOCATION: Canberra CATEGORY: SCIENCE SHOTLIST: 1. various of CSIRO Discovery centre 2. various of wild rabbits STORYLINE: Australians have been called upon to help the national science agency track rabbit diseases to help contain the invasive pest species. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) on Thursday released new research showing that testing for the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) has expanded from fewer than 30 tissue samples annually to an average of 345 tested samples per year since the 2015 launch of the disease monitoring program. RHDV, also known as Rabbit Calicivirus or Lagovirus, is used as a biocontrol agent to manage feral rabbits, which are one of Australia's most destructive pest species. According to the CSIRO, feral rabbits cause plant diversity loss, compete with native animals for food and cost t