Myxomatosis
| Myxoma virus | |
|---|---|
| Myxoma virus (transmission electron microscope) | |
| Virus classification | |
| (unranked): | Virus |
| Realm: | Varidnaviria |
| Kingdom: | Bamfordvirae |
| Phylum: | Nucleocytoviricota |
| Class: | Pokkesviricetes |
| Order: | Chitovirales |
| Family: | Poxviridae |
| Genus: | Leporipoxvirus |
| Species: | Myxoma virus |
Myxomatosis is a disease caused by Myxoma virus, a poxvirus in the genus Leporipoxvirus. The natural hosts are tapeti (Sylvilagus brasiliensis) in South and Central America, and brush rabbits (Sylvilagus bachmani) in North America. The myxoma virus causes only a mild disease in these species, but causes a severe and usually fatal disease in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), the species of rabbit commonly raised for companionship and as a food source.
Myxomatosis is an example of what occurs when a virus jumps from a species adapted to the virus to a naive host, and has been extensively studied for this reason. The virus was intentionally introduced in Australia, France, and Chile in the 1950s to control wild European rabbit populations.