Do rabbits have rabies?

Nowadays, many people will find that many poultry animals may suffer from rabies in their lives. Rabies does not necessarily occur only in dogs. If a rabbit is bitten by a rabid patient, it will develop rabies if it is not diagnosed or vaccinated in time. However, generally speaking, animals like rabbits are not prone to rabies.

Animals carrying the rabies virus are the most important source of rabies infection. From a global perspective, the most important animal source of rabies is the domestic dog.

However, in theory, almost all warm-blooded animals, including birds, can be infected with the rabies virus and transmit the disease to humans. The most important epidemic animals are changing in different continents and countries and in different eras. A long time ago, the most important rabies source animal in Europe was the dog. After efforts to control rabies in dogs, foxes became the most important source of rabies. Now, due to the successful application of oral rabies vaccines, the role of foxes as a source of infection has been greatly weakened, and the role of bats is not as important as in America.

The most important rabies source animals in North America are wild animals such as raccoons, minks, and bats. The number of dogs and cats tested positive each year is very small. In addition to dogs and cats, rabies caused by bats is the main rabies source animal in South America, causing huge economic losses to cattle every year. In Africa, a variety of animals have been reported to cause rabies, but many cases have not been diagnosed by laboratory confirmation, with jackals being one of the more frequently reported species. In Asia, dogs account for about 98% of rabies cases, while cats account for less than 2%. In my country, the animal sources of rabies include domestic animals such as dogs, cats, pigs, cattle, and sheep. There are no statistical data on rabies in wild animals. Other wild animals reported to have experienced or caused rabies include wild mice, house mice, wolves, sika deer, otters, weasels, bears, leopards, hedgehogs, wild boars, foxes, badgers, etc. There is little investigation and research on whether bats in my country carry toxins, and further research is needed.

The possibility of a person with rabies directly transmitting the virus to another person is extremely small, but it does exist. In addition to the fact that patients can transmit rabies to others through tissue (such as cornea) or organ transplant surgery, the possibility of patients transmitting rabies by biting others or by directly or indirectly contaminating the wounds of healthy people with saliva cannot be ruled out.

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