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Reprinted with permission from the Evansville Courier & Press website
Dead bunnies: Officials probe disease that may be from Kentucky
By JIMMY NESBITT, Courier & Press staff
June 10, 2005
EVANSVILLE -- Indiana health officials are investigating an outbreak of a rare viral disease that killed about 100 rabbits on a Vanderburgh County farm.
This is the first time that rabbit hemorrhagic disease, a rapidly spreading virus that kills 90 percent of the animals infected, has been diagnosed in Indiana, said Denise Derrer, public information director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health.
On May 27, a farmer who lives along the Ohio River noticed that about eight of his 200 rabbits had died, Derrer said. The identity of the farmer was not released.
Within 11 days, 100 rabbits had died. Local health officials sent blood samples to the U.S. Department of Agriculture office in Plum Island, N.Y., where the disease was diagnosed, Derrer said.
The remaining 100 rabbits were euthanized through lethal injection, she said. The carcasses were triple bagged to reduce the chance of the virus spreading, then incinerated. Investigators believe the disease may have come from Kentucky, where the farmer had bought rabbits, Derrer said. The man raised rabbits and sold them as food to owners of large snakes, she said. The man has also sold rabbits to pet stores, but had not made any recent deals, Derrer said.
Although none of the infected animals are believed to have left the farm, state health officials are advising local rabbit owners to watch for signs of rabbit hemorrhagic disease, especially in rabbits purchased at swap meets or flea markets in Kentucky, Derrer said. The disease is spread through contact with an infected rabbit, urine, feces and rabbit products, such as bedding, cages and feed, according to the state board of animal health.
Most rabbits die within six to 24 hours after the onset of a fever. A clear or bloody foamy discharge is often found around the animal's body openings. The disease is not known to harm humans, other animals or wild rabbit species, including American cottontail and jack rabbits, Derrer said.
The disease was first identified in China in 1984 and spread to Mexico in the late 1980s, according to the state board of animal health. The last known case in the United States was reported in Iowa in 2000.
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