"Bunny Pandemic": RHDV2

So while all the humans are worrying about their own people pandemic, most don't realize that there is a bunny pandemic going on too.

Ok, so it's not really a pandemic I guess, but it's a pretty scary outbreak of a fatal, highly contagious disease for bunnies (don't worry, it doesn't infect humans, so you're probably safe, unless you are also a bunny). Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (whew, that's a mouthful, thankfully it's known as RHDV, that is MUCH easier to say) has been around for a while. It started with bunnies that were imported to China from Europe in the 80s, and a new strand, RHDV2, was found in Europe ten years ago. However, it's never been detected in North America, until 2020. This year, there's been an outbreak, starting with wild rabbits in the Southwest and spreading into the domesticated population out West. It's highly contagious, and lately there's been a small outbreak at a vet office in New York. It's got a pretty high mortality rate. Officials have reported it as high as 90%, so it's definitely scary. There's no known cure, but there is a vaccine. However, the vaccine is not available in the US without special permission in areas that have a large outbreak. This really makes my tail twitch, because I bet if it was a doggie disease they would make the vaccine available for everyone, but this isn't a bunny rights post, so I'll just thump my feet in annoyance and move on.

Now, I'm a house bunny, so I don't really have much contact with the outside world, so my risk of exposure is pretty low. Mommy doesn't let me play outside, and I don't really see other rabbits unless I have to go to the vet (and I've already been neutered, so I shouldn't have to go for a while now!). There haven't been any cases in our area, but Mom is careful to wash her hands whenever she comes in from outside before she handles me, just in case. However, last week Mom discovered a new way it effects me which was kind of a surprise.

So my diet is mostly hay, and since timothy hay makes Mommy sneeze, she's been getting me orchard hay from a place called Small Pet Select. I like that they have nice long green strands of hay, it's much more tasty than other brands, and I can chew away to my heart's content. It also comes in nice big boxes, so she's not constantly ordering hay (I eat about a half a pound a day, so we go through a LOT of hay around here). However, last week when Mom's new box arrived, it was all brown and yucky. It was super dusty and had a funny smell to it. Mom was worried it was spoiled, so she wouldn't let me eat it. Luckily, Mom had bought some backup hay from Petsmart that was Oxbow brand, not as tasty, but I'll eat it, so I wasn't completely out of food, but it's still annoying to get ten pounds of useless hay. When Mom contacted Small Pet Select and sent them pictures they very quickly apologized and explained to her that the hay they are currently sending out is from 2019 and they have a new source with freshly harvested hay that they just got, but they aren't releasing it until October. They offered Mom a box of that either in October or immediately, if she acknowledged that immediately meant they hadn't kept it for 90 days. That was a bit confusing, so Mom asked why the hay had to sit for 90 days. It turns out that 90 days is the amount of time they hold it to ensure that it has not been exposed to RHDV2. They said the odds of the hay transmitting the disease were really very small. Their hay came from Washington, and there have been no reported cases in the area. They also said that RHDV2 only traveled on food under ideal conditions, but they were still holding the hay for 90 days before they sold it to everyone, just to be sure. While Mom knew the odds were small, she still didn't want to risk it, so she took store credit and bought me more Oxbow hay at Petsmart. Oxbow, it turns out, is also holding their hay for 90 days, but the strands seem to still be fresh, and she can look at the bag at the store before she buys it. 

So even though there aren't any cases of RHDV2 in my area, my life has still been effected by "bunny pandemic". I can't go explore outside and I can't have my favorite type of hay. I guess it's not so bad, but it's still a bummer. And my poor Mommy not only has to worry about human pandemic, she also has to worry about bunny pandemic!

If you want to know more about RHDV2 and how you can protect bunnies here's a link to the USDA factsheet: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/fs-rhdv2.pdf

Stay healthy everyone!