After the Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration (ALVA) over the weekend registered the first case of rabbit fever in the country, our colleagues from RTL spoke to Dr Caroline Merten about the disease and its potential risks for pets and humans alike. The presence of tularaemia was confirmed after an infected rabbit was brought to the drop-off point at the Junglinster wildlife station on 24 March, with the animal dying shortly thereafter.
Tests concluded that the rabbit was infected with tularaemia, commonly known as rabbit fever, a bacterial infection that primarily affects rabbits, with possible transmission to other animals, including humans.
Given that various cases of rabbit fever had been confirmed in Germany long ago, it was expected that the disease would spill over to Luxembourg before too long. The ALVA’s Dr Merten explains in conversation with RTL that authorities are now looking closely at the situation and how it evolves. Merten expressed hopes that the rabbit population in Luxembourg will remain resilient despite this first confirmed case.
However, experience with the bacterial disease in neighbouring countries shows that there is no cause for major concern in the Grand Duchy, the vet noted. She went on to say that the situation is highly contingent on the virulence of the pathogen.
In this regard, Merten stated that cases of rabbit fever in Central Europe show a lower degree of virulence, meaning that a potentially lower rabbit mortality rate can be expected.
Merten cautions that, in the eventuality that people who went out for a stroll with their pet encounter a dead rabbit, contact is to be avoided, especially between their pet and the rabbit. If faced with the need to have contact with the rabbit, wearing gloves and an FFP2 mask is strongly advised.
The main risk of infection affects wildlife, with house pets only facing a small risk. Fatal consequences for house pets are therefore unlikely. Merten explains that cases observed in Germany, where tularaemia has been circulating for 10 years, indicate that outbreaks of rabbit fever are mainly local, such that the chances of the disease spreading quickly are low.
The risk of infection for hunting dogs and even for cats, which may eat infected rats or mice, is similarly thought to be very small. In case of infection, however, symptoms for house pets include fever and a lack of appetite.
The risk of a person contracting the disease is minor, according to the vet. However, Merten still stressed that the risk potential has not yet been thoroughly analysed, as the research necessary for such analyses has not received much funding. The main risk factor is unknown, states Merten, highlighting how the transmission of the disease among wildlife is also largely unknown.
In case of infection in human or any other animal, antibiotics are prescribed.
If you encounter a rabbit that show cases these symptoms, please contact the Care Centre for Wildlife in Dudelange. You may also reach the ALVA laboratory, which can perform the necessary tests, on this number: 247-82544.
