‘Do not touch or move dead rabbits’: National parks warn of rabbit disease virus

National Park Service rangers are warning that a rare virus is infecting and killing wild long-tailed rabbits at Dinosaur National Monument.

Visitors to the park, which extends from Colorado and Utah, are advised to exercise caution and not approach any wildlife, especially wild rabbits, as confirmed cases of hemorrhagic fever in rabbit, or RHDV2, a highly contagious and deadly virus.

Dinosaur National Monument spokesman Dan Johnson said the virus’ impact on rabbits is brutal and almost always deadly: “they often have blood foam in their mouths.”

Rangers first noticed the large number of rabbit deaths around early March, Johnson said, and the park released news of the confirmed cases shortly after the test results were released this week. this.

Since first detected in France in 2010, RHDV2 has spread throughout Europe, Australia and was first confirmed in the American rabbit population in April 2020 when the outbreak was identified in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and in northern Mexico, according to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center report.

Johnson said NPS rangers were warned in 2021 to watch out for the virus: “It’s very contagious, so we were expecting it to show up at certain points. “

While RHDV2 poses no danger to humans or dogs, it is “hardy” and can be transmitted on clothing and objects, and can easily spread to domestic rabbit populations, Johnson said.

In addition, people and pets were also warned to stay away because “dead rabbits or a lot of illness can also be a sign of malaria or plague, which can cause serious illness in people.”

The two diseases were common in mammal populations in the West Intermountain, Johnson said, and could be the explanation for the large numbers of dead animals.

The NPS warns there is reason to believe that RHDV2, which is still rare in the United States, could eventually have a serious impact on wild and domesticated rabbit populations as well as animals in the food chain.

While the Dinosaur National Monument spans Colorado and Utah, sick and dead rabbits were found in Uintah County, Utah, Johnson said.

If visitors come across a sick or dead rabbit, NPS encourages them to take pictures and contact rangers immediately, who will use special protective equipment to handle the carcass. Keep dogs on a leash and keep them out of contact with wild animals in general.

Owners of domesticated rabbits “should exercise extreme caution” to avoid exposure to disease and should not keep the animal outdoors if exposed to any other rabbits.

Johnson says a general rule of thumb helps park visitors and their companions stay safe: “Until an animal is examined, if you suddenly see a bunch of dead animals, we usually want people to stay away from them.”

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here