The RHDV1-K5 team from the Centre for Invasive Species (CISS) has won a National Biosecurity Award for work in the 2017 release and monitoring of the rabbit control virus.
When accepting the Award, the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions noted it was a strong cooperative endeavour between the Australian Government, NSW Department of Primary Industries, SA Department of Primary Industries and Regions, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, NT Government, CSIRO, MLA, AWI and Rabbit Free Australia.
In related news, an evaluation of the impact of K5 has shown it was successful in many of the sites it was released, but its spread from those sites was limited. The impact of RHDV2, which also appeared in 2017, is thought to have been a factor. Since the release of K5 it has accounted for 10% of the deaths of rabbits sampled by CSIRO, while RHDV2 was behind 47%.
For more information:
– National Biosecurity Award – see the CISS Media Release
– K5 Evaluation – see the ABC News article
Researchers and investors from the Award winning K5 team. Image via CISS.