HARRISBURG, Pa. — Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced it was expanding a Disease Management Area and enhancing surveillance in DMAs statewide after a road-killed deer with Chronic Wasting Disease was found in Cumberland County.
On Thursday, the Game Commission announced it is seeking public help in combatting a new threat to Pennsylvania wildlife: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease, a highly pathogenic and contagious virus affecting hares, rabbits, and closely related species.
First identified in domestic rabbits in France in 2010, it has since caused mass die-offs in wild hare and rabbit populations in several countries. It showed up in the United States in early 2020 and is now already considered endemic in wild rabbit populations in some western states.
Two captive rabbits from a facility located in Fayette County tested positive for Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2), one of the viruses that causes RHD, according to the state Department of Agriculture.
The Game Commission is asking the public to report any hare or rabbit mortality events -- defined as finding two or more dead hares or rabbits at the same location with an unknown cause of death.
Anyone who finds any dead rabbits under those circumstances is asked to contact the Game Commission at 1-833-PGC-WILD or by using the online Wildlife Health Survey reporting tool.
Domestic rabbit owners who have questions about this disease should contact their veterinarians, who in turn should immediately report suspected cases of RHD to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Health at 717-772-2852, option 1. Veterinarians can call this line anytime.
Outbreaks of RHDV2 have previously been reported in domestic and wild rabbits across the United States. As of Aug. 2022, it is considered endemic in wild lagomorph (hare/rabbit) populations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. It's been detected in domestic rabbit populations in those states, as well as Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, and now, Pennsylvania.
The Fayette County case marks its first occurrence here, the Game Commission said.
The Game Commission said it has an RHD Management Plan in place. It outlines various strategies the agency may consider to protect Pennsylvania’s wild rabbits and hares.
“RHD poses a significant threat to the Commonwealth’s cottontail rabbit and snowshoe hare populations, and as such, the Game Commission is taking this recent detection very seriously,” said Dr. Andrew Di Salvo, Game Commission veterinarian. “We are working diligently to learn more about this occurrence of RHD and determine what actions, if any, to take and when.”
The disease is spread from animal to animal several ways, including direct animal-to-animal contact, ingestion of contaminated food or water; inhalation; contact with contaminated equipment, tools and enclosures; viral movement by flies, birds, biting insects, predators, scavengers, and humans; and contact with urine, feces, and respiratory discharges from infected individuals.
The virus can survive on clothing, shoes, plant material, or other items that could accidentally be moved from an infected area by humans or other animals.
Hares and rabbits that do not immediately die following infection may present with poor appetites, lethargy, and blood coming from their mouths or noses, the Game Commission said.
There is no specific treatment for RHD and it is often fatal, with die-offs of local populations potentially reaching 75% to 100%. The virus is very resilient and may remain on the landscape for months, the Game Commission said.
RHD poses no human health risk. However, multiple dead or sick hares and rabbits can also be a sign of tularemia or plague, diseases that can cause serious illness in humans. Therefore, it’s important that the public not handle or consume wildlife that appears sick or has died from an unknown cause.
It is also important to prevent pets from contacting or consuming wildlife carcasses, according to the Game Commission.
