Highly contagious, deadly rabbit disease confirmed in San Juan County

SAN JUAN COUNTY, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) state veterinarian’s office has confirmed the presence of a highly contagious, deadly disease in rabbits on Lopez and Orcas Islands in San Juan County.

It’s called Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Type 2 (RHDV2).

The rabbits suspected of having the disease were sent for testing at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Washington State University and the results came back positive Thursday afternoon.

In 2019, RHDV2 killed hundreds of rabbits in Island and Clallam counties. Before then, the disease was considered to be a foreign animal disease.

Two years later, the state vet’s office authorized emergency use of the Medgene vaccine, which is now available to all Washington veterinarians. The vaccine has been shown to be protective against RHDV2.

All rabbit owners are encouraged to have their rabbits vaccinated as soon as possible.

“Due to the contagious and extremely infectious nature of this virus, vaccination is critical for disease control to protect our domestic and wild rabbit populations alike,” the WSDA says.

If an owned rabbit dies and RHD could be the cause, state veterinarians say to double bag the body in plastic bags and refrigerate it until given more instructions, but do not freeze. Contact your veterinarian to determine if the sample should be submitted for testing.

Contact the WSDA at (360) 902-1878 or ahealth@agr.wa.gov or the State Department of Fish and Wildlife to report any unusual mortality events in any areas outside of Lopez or Orcas Islands.

Veterinarians who would like to order the vaccine should contact Medgene labs directly at 605-697-2600.

For more information on RHDV2, biosecurity, and prevention, please visit WSDA’s Rabbit He

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