Oh great...now there's a virus wiping out rabbits...100% fatal

3 years ago

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/07/06/the-rabbit-outbreak?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_063020&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9f3302ddf9c72dc86b19e&cndid=27055284&hasha=965d4c72e3ee283b51cb1333aefce9df&hashb=1a164c77364ce045414a05e93249562899911ced&hashc=c6b9dc79c9ebfa1968b9c09f5d28656382517ef224a0f51b8ee10f65b677c4a6&esrc=&utm_term=TNY_Daily

One of the lagoviruses of the family Caliciviridae causes a highly contagious illness called rabbit hemorrhagic disease. RHD is vexingly hard to diagnose. An infected rabbit might experience vague lethargy, or a high fever and difficulty breathing, or it might exhibit no symptoms at all. Regardless of the symptoms, though, the mortality rate for RHD can reach a gloomy hundred per cent. There is no treatment for it. The virus’s ability to survive and spread is uncanny. It can persist on dry cloth with no host for more than a hundred days; it can withstand freezing and thawing; it can thrive in a dead rabbit for months, and on rabbit pelts, and in the wool made from Angora-rabbit fur, and in the rare rabbit that gets infected but survives. It can travel on birds’ claws and flies’ feet and coyotes’ fur. Its spread has been so merciless and so devastating that some pet owners have begun referring to it as “rabbit Ebola.”

We got locusts, a plague, global warming, a massive dust storm heading our way, murder hornets....what next? Mother Nature seems to be out to rid the Earth of the plague known as humans.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

Uptown Gal
3 years ago
Oh no...poor little guys. I have a couple that visit me and my flowers and they are a nuisance for sure, but wouldn't want them to just sicken and die.
seagrass_gw Cape Cod
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
My dog killed one in our garden - not a common occurrence since we have good fencing. The bunny got in but couldn't get out once the chase was on. I wonder if the virus is transmittable to other animals? I don't think I saw that mentioned in the article.
Related Discussions
Mosquito control
Q
Comments (20)
Thank you Fetters. Really good post. Quite timely for us as DH has suggested putting in a garden pond. My first question was, "What about the mosquitoes?" I was intrigued by the mention of Lemon Eucalyptus. E maculata sounded somewhat familiar so I assumed we call it something else down here. I googled it and this is what I found. E maculata is known as Spotted Gum or Honey Gum (good for bees). E citriodora is known as Lemon-Scented Gum. And there is a hybrid E maculata citriodora. Recently these particular gums have been reclassified from Eucalyptus to Corymbia (useful to know in case the nurseries change the labels). I debated whether to mention the next bit. In some areas they are getting a reputation as an invasive weed. It's hard to know when such a reputation is truly warranted. (I have some birch trees, which are most definately not indigenous to my area, and I do get seedlings coming up, but after all these years my birches haven't taken over the nearby bushland. Or is that because they have no chance against the Patterson's Curse, which was once an introduced garden flower.) I suppose all I can say is do some research if you're thinking of planting one. Perhaps conditions in the areas of the US where they are grown are such that they are happy enough to grow okay but not so happy that they get out of control. And the good news is if you change your mind after you've planted one, it apparently makes really good timber. Hello OzOrganic. Sorry to hear about your landlord issue. Don't get me started on that subject. Hope you find a solution soon.
...See More
Let's all gather and vote for worst tomato pest
Q
Comments (53)
The pest I detest the most is the hornworm! They are creepy, blend in so well with the plants that finding them can be difficult, and they can decimate a plant in no time! My new technique for dealing with them? (got this one from somewhere on gardenweb).....cut the little booger in half with scissors!! Gross, but effective and better than having to touch them! (just make sure to label the scissors and don't use them for other things!)
...See More
Great Household Products /Solutions to share
Q
Comments (164)
What a fun thread! All this talk of cleaning toilets brings me to contribute my favorite toilet cleaning tool: a toilet mop. DH first used these in college when he cleaned the 3rd floor dorm bathrooms as his work-study job. (The guys loved him, they had the cleanest bathrooms in the whole dorm!) He begged me to find a toilet mop when we were fist married, but I only found the bristle styles in stores. He said the mop style worked so much better. A few years later I heard about toilet mops in Don Aslett's cleaning books, but, again, I could never find one locally. Then I was swayed by Flylady hype and ordered "rubba swishas," and sadly, hated them for their intended purpose. After waiting for the scrubba to die, grumbling each time I used it, I finally broke down and looked for toilet mops on Amazon, and came across the Fuller Brush model. It works great, and I really like the flexible plastic cover that can be used to squeeze out the excess water after using it. I plan to put a command hook on the side of the tank and hang the mop by the hole in the handle. (I also tried a mop with a nylon type fluff head and didn't like it nearly as much as the Fuller Brush one.) Fuller Brush Toilet Swab Now I see Amazon has a Don Aslett model, but I've not tried them.
...See More
Coronavirus #2 - how is it affecting you and your family/friends?
Q
Comments (423)
Jinx - I'm sorry to have to deal with that. I saw your post too. I find it hard still with those going on about it being all the media etc. and saying it is a conspiracy to get the president etc. Fortunately these are not close friends at this point, but it really gets me especially since I have several friends in Europe who are seeing with their own eyes what is going on as many work in healthcare. I try to move on and skip it and hope we are ahead of things by starting social distancing earlier than many of the European countries did. Unfortunately I don't feel like looking at China is a good option since they have a way of controlling their citizens that isn't there in the same way in the Western world. We can learn from what happened to different age groups with their population, but as to control I don't think it is the same as they use ways that wouldn't work in the Western cultures until it is really bad to control things.
...See More
amicus
3 years ago
seagrass, apparently the virus is not transmissible to other animals or humans.
bpath
3 years ago
Not yet, amicus.
dedtired
3 years ago
Thats sad. Bunnies are cute.
graywings123
3 years ago
Wow, I had no idea. I have three rabbits in my yard these days. The dog used to keep them away, but now without a dog, the rabbits just cruise around the yard nibbling.
nickel_kg
3 years ago
Wild rabbits are such an important part of the ecosystem. Or should we say, an important part of the current ecosystem. Future unknown....
sheilajoyce_gw
3 years ago
Wild rabbits live on the slope behind our house. They kill the grass. Their area is a fenced in, safe slope. No critters can get to them. And since we don't have dogs or cats, they come to our yard and kill the sod.
Elmer J Fudd
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Yes, rabbits are cute and all that. But they're wild animal. While I'm sorry about the situation, I was glad to read that what threatens them is NOT a result of human activity. I trust nature in these situations. There really isn't an alternative but to allow it to run its course to whatever outcome there is.

An aside. I know that the New Yorker is a long-established, well-respected and upmarket publication. Every encounter I've had over the years leaves me with the impression that its style is to produce articles that seem to be 2X or 3X or more too long than would be needed to adequately cover the subject matter. I get bored before getting to the end and that's what happened to me with this linked article, I couldn't finish it. New Yorker's loyal readers, and I know there are a lot of them, must like the style or demand the lack of conciseness but I find it off-putting.

A favorite story a propos the aside. A university professor gets a call from his department chair:

Dept Chair- "Fred, Prof Anderson has taken ill and I need to find someone to cover his 90 minute time slot in tomorrow's seminar schedule. I hate to hit you with this at such a last minute, but might it be possible for you to fill in for him"

Fred - "Yes, no problem. I'm happy to help out and can handle that easily"

Dept Chair - "Oh, and one other thing. In two days, there's a visiting group of professors from Oxford coming for an orientation. Prof Anderson was going to give a 15 minute presentation to them. Can you handle that too?"

Fred- "Sorry, no, that would be quite impossible. I can give a 1-2 hour presentation at any time with ease but if you want me to do a good job with a 15 minute presentation, that normally would take me 7 days or more to prepare.
laceyvail 6A, WV
3 years ago
Deer around here are subject to a hemorrhagic disease called locally 'Blue tongue'. It's always something of a relief when it hits and reduces the population for a while.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Just saw this last night.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/30/new-strain-of-flu-in-china-has-pandemic-potential-scientists-warns.html

What is going on in China! Good grief one pandemic at a time!

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/30/dr-anthony-fauci-says-new-virus-in-china-has-traits-of-2009-h1n1-and-1918-pandemic-flu.html

Oh great...now there's a virus wiping out rabbits...100% fatal

Comments (11)

Uptown Gal

seagrass_gw Cape Cod

Related Discussions

amicus

bpath

dedtired

graywings123

nickel_kg

sheilajoyce_gw

Elmer J Fudd

laceyvail 6A, WV

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US