Urgent message for all USA people with pet rabbits

[Guest guest]

Urgent news about spread of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease in the USA

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Rabbit Information Service has received information from

the USA Coalition against RHD (RHD is Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease)

about the latest New York outbreak of rabbit hemorrhagic disease (USA).

 

According to a spokesperson from the " USA Coalition against RHD " ,

the New York outbreak of RHD at a wildlife center may have come from frozen

rabbit

meat.

 

There are concerns RHD infected frozen rabbit meat could be sitting in USA

supermarkets.

 

No further response has been received from APHIS concerning the possible

source

of the New York RHD outbreak being frozen rabbit meat.

 

Imported frozen rabbit meat was the source of a widespread outbreak of RHD

in Mexico

in the 1980's which was eradicated due to a huge effort by Mexican

authorities and the USDA. Many thousands of rabbits died in the Mexican

outbreak.

Read about the 1989 RHD outbreak in Mexico at

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/jarr.htm

 

Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease is a fatal disease of rabbits that has no cure.

 

According to USA authorities " Adult rabbits seem to be most commonly

affected with VHD, but it can also be seen in young rabbits older than 8

weeks. There appears to be a wide range of morbidity (those rabbits being

affected). It can be as low as 30% or as high as 80%. Of rabbits affected

the mortality reaches 95-100%. In other words, if the rabbit gets VHD, it

will almost always die. The incubation period is very short, apparently

24-72 hours. The route of entry of the virus into the host has not been

completely determined, but it apparently can invade the respiratory tract ,

the digestive tract or come in through scratches or abrasions in the skin.

Experimentally, the virus has produced the disease when introduced orally,

intramuscularly or by intraperitonial injection. It has been suggested that

the virus can be transmitted by aerosols, direct contact, equipment, in the

meat or by-products and possibly by insects or rodents.

 

There seem to be three forms of the disease: the peracute form is when all

that is seen is a dead rabbit in the cage; the acute form of the disease is

when the rabbit shows depression, goes off feed, and has difficulty in

breathing. This rabbit dies in one to two days and exhibits incoordination,

shaking and evidence of pain prior to death. It may also show a mucus blood

stained nasal discharge. When the rabbits are first observed, the rectal

temperature may increase 2-3 degrees F (normal rectal temperature 103

degrees F). The third form of the disease seems to be much milder. The

rabbits appear sick but then recover and are immune to reinfection. "

 

The USA does not allow the use of the RHD vaccine and RHD survives on

clothing

for over 60 days and can survive freezing and temperature extremes.

 

British authorities say RHD is suspected of being transmitted

by dust particles, on lorry tyres, by birds or by people who have been in

contact

with RHD. Australian authorities say " biting and sucking insects " can spread

RHD disease

(fleas, flies and mosquitoes). RHD may survive on inanimate objects.

 

RHD has killed millions of rabbits throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and

New Zealand.

 

Please be vigilant and protect your pet rabbits. Precautionary measures

include

showering and changing clothes if you have been in contact with the RHD.

 

Apparently, the current RHD vaccine used to protect pet rabbits in

Australia, NZ and Europe

is based on " seed stock " of virus grown in sheds of live rabbits. This is an

inhumane

method of producing a vaccine base (many pet rabbits are deliberately

infected and killed to

reproduce the virus for the vaccine).

 

For futher information and to help stop the spread of RHD in the USA

visit the Coalition against VHD in the USA

http://www.kindplanet.org/vhd/vhd.html