Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease virus type 2

RABBIT HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE CONFIRMED IN JAMUL AND DULZURA

By Miriam Raftery
 
June 25, 2024 (San Diego’s East County)—Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2) has been confirmed in three wild cottontail rabbits in Jamul and Dulzura in May, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) confirms. The disease, a form of viral hepatitis, is fatal 50 to 100% of the time in wild rabbits and hares, but does not affect humans, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 
The testing comes after East County Magazine reached out to CDFW in April after several residents reported finding dead rabbits in these rural areas, but none had been tested. Following our inquiry and further reports from residents, CDFW acquired several carcasses for testing. View our report in April.

Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

RABBIT HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE FOUND FOR FIRST TIME IN CALIFORNIA

Public, hunters and hikers  asked to take precautions to avoid spreading deadly illness

East County News Service

Photo: Creative Commons-S.A. via Bing

May 13, 2020 (Palm Springs) – After 10 dead jackrabbits were found dead on a private property near Palm Springs, a carcass has tested positive for Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease virus type 2 (RHDV2) which is highly contagious and often lethal to both wild and domestic rabbits, as well as hares and pikas. The virus has been confirmed in state and federal lab tests. 


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.