Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease update

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RABBIT HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE - USA

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A ProMED-mail post<http://www.promedmail.org>

ProMED-mail, a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases<http://www.isid.org>[see

also:2001

----Rabbit hemorrhagic disease - USA 20011215.3040

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease - USA (Utah) (02) 20010927.2357

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease - USA (Utah) 20010821.1971]31 Jan 2002

 

Dr. Thomas E. Walton, USDA <walton

 

In response to a number of questions submitted from the ProMED-mail

Moderator to the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS),

Veterinary Services (VS) with regard to the outbreak of rabbit hemorrhagic

disease (RHD) that occurred in rabbits in the domestic area of an exotic

animal facility in NY, I offer the following:

 

1. Currently available epidemiologic information about the outbreak of RHD

that occurred in the affected facility is insufficient to ascribe an origin

for the rabbit calicivirus isolated. We have information that rabbit meat

from US-origin suppliers who receive rabbit meat from many sources

including rabbit meat imported from China was prepared for the zoo

carnivores in the same kitchen in which the rabbit diets were prepared.

Food and other samples from the kitchen have been received and tested for

rabbit caliciviruses at the USDA, APHIS, VS, Foreign Animal Disease

Diagnostic Laboratory, Plum Island, NY. While RHD virus was isolated from

the rabbits in the petting zoo, all samples from the kitchen have been

negative for rabbit caliciviruses. USDA, APHIS does not regulate imported

commercial rabbit meat.

 

An alternate scenario is infection from rabbit owners who visited the

petting zoo. However, we have had no recent reports of RHD virus

infections in rabbitries in the United States. In short, we have no

unequivocal epidemiologic information on which to make a determination of

the origin of the virus.

 

2. USDA, APHIS has not issued any alerts attributing the RHD outbreak at

the facility to RHD-virus infected rabbit meat because we have insufficient

information to make such a recommendation. It would be less than

responsible to warn of " RHD virus-infected rabbit meat " when we have no

idea if that is true. US experiences with RHD have involved backyard

" herds " and now, the petting zoo.

 

3. USDA, APHIS has no indication that RHD virus-infected rabbit meat has

been imported into the United States. However, the rabbit meat suppliers

receive their supply from various companies, including one company that

imports rabbit meat from China.

 

4. USDA, APHIS has no data to suggest that US-origin rabbit meat is fed at

the affected facility. This is unclear because the company from which the

zoo purchases is of US origin but receives meat from China through a chain

of suppliers. There is no way to determine how much meat was directly from

China and how much meat was of US origin.

 

5. The RHD viruses are considered exotic to the United States. As stated

previously, " commercial " rabbit producers have not reported disease.

Extensive tracebacks from this and earlier outbreaks have not yielded any

indication of an associated origin from US rabbit raisers, including

commercial producers. Therefore, no meat from infected rabbits reaches

commercial distribution. It is improbable that US origin rabbit meat

infected with RHD virus has been marketed to wholesale or retail outlets.--

 

Thomas E. Walton, DVM, PhD, ScD, Director

Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health

USDA, Animal & Plant Health Inspection ServiceVeterinary Services

Fort Collins,

CO<walton....................................tg/pg/es

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