Editing Rabbit (section)

===Diseases and immunity===
{{see also|Rabbit health|:Category:Rabbit diseases}}

In addition to being at risk of disease from common pathogens such as ''[[Bordetella bronchiseptica]]'' and ''[[Escherichia coli]]'', rabbits can contract the virulent, species-specific viruses [[myxomatosis]],<ref name=":2" /> and a form of calicivirus which causes [[rabbit hemorrhagic disease]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6508.htm |title=Australia's War Against Rabbits |author1=Cooke, Brian Douglas |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-643-09612-7 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607140214/http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6508.htm |archive-date=7 June 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Myxomatosis is more hazardous to pet rabbits, as wild rabbits often have some immunity.<ref>{{multiref2|{{cite journal |last=Meredith |first=A |title=Viral skin diseases of the rabbit |journal=Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice |date=2013 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=705–714 |doi=10.1016/j.cvex.2013.05.010|pmid=24018033 |ref=none}}|{{cite journal |last=Kerr |first=P |title=Genomic and phenotypic characterization of myxoma virus from Great Britain reveals multiple evolutionary pathways distinct from those in Australia |journal=PLOS Pathogens |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=e1006252 |date=2017|pmc=5349684 |pmid=28253375 |doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.1006252 |doi-access=free |ref=none}}}}</ref> Among the parasites that infect rabbits are tapeworms (such as ''[[Taenia serialis]])'', external parasites (including fleas and mites), [[coccidia]] species, ''[[Encephalitozoon cuniculi]]'',<ref name="nat lib cuniculi">{{cite journal|title=''Encephalitozoon cuniculi'' in pet rabbits: diagnosis and optimal management|last=Latney|first=La'Toya|journal= Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports|date=2014 |volume=5 |pages=169–180 |doi=10.2147/VMRR.S49842 |doi-access=free |pmid=32670857 |pmc=7337189 }}</ref> and ''[[Toxoplasma gondii]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wood |first=Maggie |title=Parasites of Rabbits |url=http://www.exoticpetvet.com/breeds/rabbitexpectations142.htm |work=Chicago Exotics, PC |access-date=8 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302084348/http://www.exoticpetvet.com/breeds/rabbitexpectations142.htm |archive-date=2 March 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Boschert |first=Ken |title=Internal Parasites of Rabbits |url=http://netvet.wustl.edu/species/rabbits/rabparas.txt |work=Net Vet |access-date=8 April 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402055049/http://netvet.wustl.edu/species/rabbits/rabparas.txt |archive-date=2 April 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Domesticated rabbits with a diet lacking in high-fiber sources, such as hay and grass, are susceptible to potentially lethal gastrointestinal stasis.<ref>{{cite web |last=Krempels |first=Dana |title=GastroIntestinal Stasis, The Silent Killer |url=http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html |work=Department of Biology at the University of Miami |access-date=21 September 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619101231/http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html |archive-date=19 June 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Rabbits and hares are almost never found to be infected with [[rabies]] and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans.<ref name="CDCRabies">{{cite web |title=Rabies: Other Wild Animals |url=https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/exposure/animals/other.html |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=20 December 2012 |date=15 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220085305/http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/exposure/animals/other.html |archive-date=20 December 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[Rabbit hemorrhagic disease]] (RHD) is a highly infectious rabbit-specific disease caused by strains of [[Rabbit hemorrhagic disease|rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus]] (RHDV), including [[rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus type 2|type 2]] (RHDV2).<ref name="RHDV2">{{cite web | title=Rabbit hemorrhagic disease | website=[[American Veterinary Medical Association]] | url=https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/animal-health/rabbit-hemorrhagic-disease | access-date=2022-08-07}}</ref> The disease was first described in domestic Angora rabbits imported from Germany to [[Jiangsu]], China in 1984, and quickly spread to Korea, Italy, and the rest of Europe. The disease spread to the Americas from 1988, first appearing in rabbits imported to Mexico, but subsequent outbreaks were infrequent, as RHDV only affected the European rabbit species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Abrantes |first1=Joana |last2=van der Loo |first2=Wessel |last3=Le Pendu |first3=Jacques |last4=Esteves |first4=Pedro J. |date=2012-02-10 |title=Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV): a review |journal=Veterinary Research |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=12 |doi=10.1186/1297-9716-43-12 |doi-access=free |issn=1297-9716 |pmc=3331820 |pmid=22325049}}</ref> RHDV2, a strain of RHD-causing virus that affects both domestic and wild lagomorphs, such as hares, was detected for the first time in France in 2010.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bárcena |first1=Juan |last2=Guerra |first2=Beatriz |last3=Angulo |first3=Iván |last4=González |first4=Julia |last5=Valcárcel |first5=Félix |last6=Mata |first6=Carlos P. |last7=Castón |first7=José R. |last8=Blanco |first8=Esther |last9=Alejo |first9=Alí |date=2015-09-24 |title=Comparative analysis of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) and new RHDV2 virus antigenicity, using specific virus-like particles |journal=Veterinary Research |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=106 |doi=10.1186/s13567-015-0245-5 |doi-access=free |issn=1297-9716 |pmc=4581117 |pmid=26403184}}</ref> RHDV2 has since spread to the rest of Europe, Canada,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ambagala |first1=Aruna |last2=Schwantje |first2=Helen |last3=Laurendeau |first3=Sonja |last4=Snyman |first4=Heindrich |last5=Joseph |first5=Tomy |last6=Pickering |first6=Bradley |last7=Hooper-McGrevy |first7=Kathleen |last8=Babiuk |first8=Shawn |last9=Moffat |first9=Estella |last10=Lamboo |first10=Lindsey |last11=Lung |first11=Oliver |last12=Goolia |first12=Melissa |last13=Pinette |first13=Mathieu |last14=Embury-Hyatt |first14=Carissa |date=July 2021 |title=Incursions of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 in Canada—Clinical, molecular and epidemiological investigation |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tbed.14128 |journal=Transboundary and Emerging Diseases |language=en |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=1711–1720 |doi=10.1111/tbed.14128 |pmid=33915034 |issn=1865-1674|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Australia,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ramsey |first1=David S. |last2=Patel |first2=Kandarp K. |last3=Campbell |first3=Susan |last4=Hall |first4=Robyn N. |last5=Taggart |first5=Patrick L. |last6=Strive |first6=Tanja |date=2023-05-12 |title=Sustained Impact of RHDV2 on Wild Rabbit Populations across Australia Eight Years after Its Initial Detection |journal=Viruses |language=en |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=1159 |doi=10.3390/v15051159 |doi-access=free |issn=1999-4915 |pmc=10223972 |pmid=37243245}}</ref> and the United States.<ref name="washington-state">{{cite web | title=Deadly rabbit disease confirmed in Thurston County; vets urge vaccination | website=[[Washington State Department of Agriculture]] | date=2020-09-25 | url=https://agr.wa.gov/about-wsda/news-and-media-relations/news-releases?article=35585&culture=en-US | access-date=2022-08-07}}</ref><ref name="RHDV2" />