Rabbit calicivirus testing

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT TEST SHOT RABBIT SAMPLES. PLEASE ONLY SEND US SAMPLES FROM RABBITS FOUND DEAD.

The last day for samples to be received for testing in 2024 will be Tuesday 17th December, wherein results will be emailed by Friday 21st December.
Testing will resume in 2025 from Monday 6th January.

Domestic rabbit owners, veterinarians, and land holders

If you suspect a rabbit may have died of calicivirus, you can request a free test kit by sending an email to rabbitcalicivirus@csiro.au with your postal address. A prepaid express post bag is supplied in each kit.

Please submit a fresh or frozen (not formalin-fixed) liver sample. Sampling instructions and a submission form can be downloaded by clicking on the links. Please freeze the whole rabbit or a liver sample in a ziplock bag or sterile urine jar until the test kit arrives.

Calicivirus submission formDOCX24 KB

Once in the preservative the liver sample is stable at room temperature and can be posted to us in the regular post. Samples without a completed submission form will not be tested. Results should be available within 1-2 weeks, barring any technical difficulties.

Our postal address is:

CSIRO Black Mountain
c/o Nina Huang
2-40 Clunies Ross Street
Acton
ACT 2601

Wild rabbit samples can also be submitted via the RabbitScan website (but direct submissions to us is preferred). Click on the ‘Record potential disease’ tab of the Rabbit Biocontrol Tracker to request a sample kit. This is a simple automated process, if you prefer not to complete a submission form.

Myxoma virus testing

If you suspect a rabbit may have died of myxomatosis, you can request a free test kit by emailing your postal address to rabbitcalicivirus@csiro.au.

Please submit a fresh or frozen (not formalin-fixed) eyelid sample. Sampling instructions and a submission form can be downloaded by clicking on the links. Once in the preservative the sample is stable at room temperature and can be posted to us in the regular post. Samples without a completed submission form will not be tested. As this is not part of our routine testing, results may take up to 4 weeks.

Myxoma virus submission formDOCX24 KB