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posted by martyb on Monday July 27 2020, @02:10AM   Printer-friendly

https://www.popsci.com/story/animals/bunny-ebola-rabbit-hemorrhagic-disease/

A deadly virus is spreading with alarming speed among wild and domestic rabbits in seven southwestern states. The contagion causes an illness called rabbit hemorrhagic disease that has earned the nickname "bunny Ebola" because the disease causes massive internal bleeding and bloody discharge around the nose and mouth. The virus kills swiftly—as happened in February, when pet rabbits boarding at a veterinary practice in Manhattan suddenly began to die without warning, The New Yorker reported last month.

The disease is deeply worrying for domestic rabbit owners and could also have consequences for wild rabbit, hare, and pika populations. An outbreak last year in northwestern Washington state had devastating impacts on both feral and pet rabbits. Now animal health officials are tracking its spread and trying to protect their most endangered rabbits from a disease that is very contagious and has a high mortality rate.

"They both represent a longtime fear that has come true," says Susan Kerr, an education and outreach specialist at the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

[...] Known as rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2), it can kill infected rabbits within a few days by causing widespread inflammation, problems with blood clotting and bleeding, and organ failure. "The organs can't do their functions anymore because there is so much blood in them," Kerr says.

The virus has many qualities that make it a formidable threat. During an outbreak, anywhere from 40 to 100 percent of infected rabbits will perish; the afflicted southwestern states are currently reporting a mortality rate of around 90 percent. It can survive in the environment or within a recovered host for weeks to months and thrives at freezing temperatures. It also can't be killed with soap.

"It can be carried on the feet of flies or on the feathers of birds or in the fur of scavengers, so it can just physically be moved around very easily," Kerr says. "The virus can move in water and if it gets on dust it can move in the wind."

There are several ways that we can protect pet buns. There is a vaccine for RHDV2, although it's not currently licensed in the US and must be imported from Europe. By avoiding bringing in pine boughs for bedding or clover and grass as a treat, Kerr says, people can prevent their rabbits from coming into contact with foliage that infected rabbits or scavengers that have feasted on the carcasses of infected rabbits may have passed through.

Shielding wild and feral rabbits from the virus is another story.


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  • (Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @02:49AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @02:49AM (#1026924)

    Vermin in the house! Yuck!!

    People who "love" their animals are weird!

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @03:27AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @03:27AM (#1026936)

    2 kinds of people in the world; pet-lovers and narcissists.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @03:48AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @03:48AM (#1026948)

      Guess I'm a speciesist then. I prefer human company. Something I can kiss and fuck without feeling guilty about it. Animals are for work and food

      • (Score: 4, Funny) by Subsentient on Monday July 27 2020, @04:01AM

        by Subsentient (1111) on Monday July 27 2020, @04:01AM (#1026952) Homepage Journal

        Wait, you're capable of feeling guilt? Color me surprised.

        --
        "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti