Preventing the spread of a deadly virus to Pennsylvania’s rabbits and hares
Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program has embarked on a genetics study to prevent future outbreaks of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus type 2.
2 min. read
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus type 2 (RHDV-2) is contagious and lethal, threatening both wild and domestic rabbits. Pennsylvania had its first two cases at a Fayette County domestic farmed rabbit facility in 2022. Fortunately, it hasn’t happened since. But it could.
For that reason, the Wildlife Futures Program (WFP) at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine has embarked on a genetics study to provide the information needed in the event of future outbreaks. RHDV-2 has been known to kill up to 70-100% of a given rabbit population during an outbreak in the wild.
“This research is intended to help wildlife management agencies develop a plan to be able to respond very quickly,” says Sarah Tomke, the postdoctoral researcher hired by the WFP to do the study. Because the virus hasn’t spread to mid-western or eastern states, Pennsylvania rabbits haven’t developed any immunity to the virus.
Tomke’s study focuses on Eastern cottontails, a very plentiful wild species in Pennsylvania. Since rabbits are very social creatures, Eastern cottontails are very likely to make contact with domestic rabbits kept outdoors, whether they are pets or commercial animals.
“Our bigger concern is that this virus will spread into Eastern cottontails and then jump into our more vulnerable species, like snowshoe hares and Appalachian cottontails,” Tomke says. “If those become infected, we could see massive die-offs in those species that cannot recover.”
To do her study, Tomke worked with members of the public, including hunters from around the state, to collect two-inch ear clippings from deceased Eastern cottontails.
Tomke is still analyzing data and doesn’t expect to have final results until sometime this summer. Ultimately the goal is to understand how cottontail populations are distributed across the state by tracking gene flow and to determine how different landscapes—roads, streams, lakes, mountain ranges—affect where and how far they move.
This story is by Rita Giordano. Read more at Penn Vet.
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