A new deadly virus, rabbit hemorrhagic disease, is killing thousands of wild rabbits in the US
USA TODAY
N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY
,USA TODAY•May 20, 2020
A deadly virus is spreading across the southwestern United States and killing wild rabbits on this continent for the first time, wildlife officials say.
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus type 2 can cause swelling, internal bleeding and liver damage in rabbits, hares, jackrabbits and pikas, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The symptoms can appear so rapidly that infected rabbits may die before they're found. Rabbits that have died from the disease may have blood on their mouth or nose.
"It’s going to affect the entire food chain," said Ralph Zimmerman, the state veterinarian for New Mexico where the disease first emerged in March. "Everything that feeds on rabbits is going to be affected to some degree."
The disease has killed "thousands" of rabbits in New Mexico alone, Zimmerman said.
"I’ve had reports of hundreds of dead rabbits," he said. "One of the Game and Fish folks estimated that it would be in the tens of thousands by the time it was done moving through the state."
The highly contagious disease spreads only between rabbits and is not known to affect humans, livestock or other kinds of pets. Wildlife officials are emphasizing that it is not related to coronavirus, though there are some parallels.
The virus is spread through contact with infected rabbits, their meat or fur, contaminated food or water, or insects and scavengers that have come into contact with infectious material, according to the National Wildlife Health Center.
The hardy virus can remain stable in the environment for up to 15 weeks in dry conditions and can survive freezing.
This virus is a new strain of a disease that
first emerged in China in 1984, according to a study in the peer-reviewed Journal of Virology. The new type of virus, RHDV2, was first detected in France in 2010 and has since killed wild rabbits across Europe. It spread through Australia in 18 months.
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