Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Another virus outbreak but this one’s victims are rabbits

While humans deal with outbreaks of the coronavirus, rabbits and hares in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States are suffering from a viral threat of their own.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader) reports that so far rabbits and hares both domestic and wild have been diagnosed with a type of hemorrhagic fever in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango and Sonora.

The federal agriculture sanitation authority Senasica first confirmed cases of the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 in rabbits in Chihuahua in April. Since then it has detected 36 cases among domestic rabbits and 11 in wild hares, the latter being found in the states of Chihuahua, Durango and Sonora.

Health authorities ordered immediate action to deal with the problem, including culling infected populations and sanitizing areas where sick animals have been.

Labs operated by Senasica have tested 147 domestic rabbits and 22 wild hares, and veterinarians have tended to 52 potential cases reported from 12 states.

The virus is not native to Mexico, and experts from both sides of the border agree that it is highly contagious and lethal for rabbits and hares, but cannot be transmitted to humans or other animals.

To mitigate the spread of the virus, health authorities are advising cuniculturists, or rabbit breeders, not to transport sick or dead rabbits. Restricting nonessential persons or other animals from accessing breeding pens and avoiding buying rabbits of unknown origin will also reduce the spread of the disease.

Source: 24 Horas (sp)

Jacaranda tree blooming in between city buildings.

When do the jacarandas bloom in Mexico? Earlier than they used to

0
Jacarandas' purple flowers signal spring in Mexico City. Learn why some are now blooming as early as January and where to spot these iconic trees in the capital.
Avocados Super Bowl 2025

Mexican producers exported over 110,000 tonnes of avocados for Super Bowl guac

2
More than 110,000 tonnes of avocados — equivalent to over 250 million pieces of the green fruit — were sent to the United States ahead of this year’s Super Bowl on Feb. 9. 
Facade of Bank of Mexico building in Mexico City, done in a classical style of architecture with arches, pillars, and balconies at each upper floor window

Banxico survey lowers Mexico’s growth forecast for 2025 to 1%

0
The 40 economic analysts interviewed for the new Banxico survey also revised their 2025 inflation predictions upward to 3.83%.