Deadly rabbit disease found in Ontario for the 1st time

Two pet rabbits infected with a highly contagious virus that's newly detected in Ontario have died, causing concern among veterinarians and pet owners.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said it's the first time rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHDV-2) has been detected in Ontario. It previously was found in B.C. and Alberta. 

The virus is not known to cause disease in humans, according to both the United States Department of Agriculture and the CFIA.

The rabbits in the Ontario case were from the same household and previously healthy, according to Dr. Jamie McGill Worsley, a veterinarian in Forest in Lambton County. 

The rabbits quickly died. 

"This was devastating for a pet owner with no warning and initially no understanding," she said, "As we did testing, we started to become more suspicious that maybe this [virus] was the case."

Samples were sent to a lab. Earlier this month, the CFIA confirmed it was RHDV-2.

The source of the infection isn't known, the agency said.

"Immediately following this, the CFIA placed a quarantine on the site," the agency said in a statement. "An investigation has been completed and no high-risk contacts have been identified that could result in spread of the disease from this premise. The CFIA is collaborating with the province and continues to monitor the situation."

The CFIA's website says the virus is found in most European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Cuba and some parts of Asia and Africa, and there have been occasional outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada, in 2011, 2016 and 2018.

What is RHDV-2

According to the CFIA, the disease is highly contagious in wild and domestic rabbits. The virus doesn't affect other species.

People can pick up the virus on their shoes — or even on their vehicle's tires — through the feces of an infected rabbit, said McGill Worsley.

That's one of the reasons there's such concern, she said.

"It is very resilient in the environment. It's very easy to spread around with microscopic amounts. And then, of course, the potential outcome of this virus, its impact on the rabbits, whether they're wild or pet rabbits, is quite devastating," said McGill Worsley, who has strengthened disinfection protocols at her clinic because of RHDV-2.

The CFIA said infected rabbits usually show symptoms within one to five days. Symptoms include fever, loss of appetite and neurological symptoms such as difficulty walking.

"Death is common after a short period of illness. Death may also occur suddenly without signs," the CFIA says in a fact sheet on its website.

Hazel Gabe of Ottawa is part of a Facebook group for rabbit owners where news of the virus has generated concern.

"People are really scared. People are very scared and nervous," she said.

But for some, there's a bit of relief, she said.

"Now that there's been some cases in Ontario, even though we hate that some rabbits died and somebody probably lost their pet, but this means that maybe we will finally have access to the vaccine, because we've been asking for this for a while."

 While other countries have vaccines that protect rabbits against the virus, they're not readily available in Canada.

In B.C., where there have been outbreaks, the government waited until there were a certain number of cases before offering an organized vaccine program.

McGill Worsley suspects it will be the same case in Ontario. But at this point, clinics have to request a special permit to import the vaccine from Spain or France, she said.

"It's a bit of a process. I've worked part way through it myself ... that way we can start to be able to protect rabbits once we have permission from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to bring those vaccines here."