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PUBLISHED: December 7, 2023 at 6:10 a.m. | UPDATED: December 8, 2023 at 4:29 a.m.
By WILL MCCARTHY
A rabbit suffers from myxomatosis, a virus with a 99% mortality rate for domesticated rabbits, at the Exotic Pet Clinic in Santa Cruz. Last month, a rabbit at Tilden Park’s Little Farm, an educational farm in Berkeley, was diagnosed with this viral illness and it quickly spread killing all their rabbits. (Courtesy of Hilary Stern/ Exotic Pet Clinic of Santa Cruz)
Last month, a Dutch rabbit at the Tilden Park Little Farm started acting strangely. It had lost its appetite, lying in its hutch, head hanging, refusing to move. When staff at the free education farm in Berkeley examined the animal, they saw one of its eyes had swollen immensely.
The rabbit had contracted myxomatosis (mix-a-mitt-oh-sis), a viral illness endemic to a narrow strip of the U.S. ranging from Oregon down the California Coast to Baja. Although relatively harmless to wild brush rabbits, the illness is highly contagious and has a 99% mortality rate for domesticated species. Suddenly, it was threatening the beloved rabbits of the farm. ...
Cassel learned that rabbits suffering from the illness experience swollen eyes and genitalia, ulcers, fever and, eventually, death. ...
Although there is a vaccine for the virus in Europe, none exists in the U.S. ...
By WILL MCCARTHY
A rabbit suffers from myxomatosis, a virus with a 99% mortality rate for domesticated rabbits, at the Exotic Pet Clinic in Santa Cruz. Last month, a rabbit at Tilden Park’s Little Farm, an educational farm in Berkeley, was diagnosed with this viral illness and it quickly spread killing all their rabbits. (Courtesy of Hilary Stern/ Exotic Pet Clinic of Santa Cruz)
Last month, a Dutch rabbit at the Tilden Park Little Farm started acting strangely. It had lost its appetite, lying in its hutch, head hanging, refusing to move. When staff at the free education farm in Berkeley examined the animal, they saw one of its eyes had swollen immensely.
The rabbit had contracted myxomatosis (mix-a-mitt-oh-sis), a viral illness endemic to a narrow strip of the U.S. ranging from Oregon down the California Coast to Baja. Although relatively harmless to wild brush rabbits, the illness is highly contagious and has a 99% mortality rate for domesticated species. Suddenly, it was threatening the beloved rabbits of the farm. ...
Cassel learned that rabbits suffering from the illness experience swollen eyes and genitalia, ulcers, fever and, eventually, death. ...
Although there is a vaccine for the virus in Europe, none exists in the U.S. ...