A disturbing virus is sweeping through soft cuddly bunnies in the US and turning them into nightmarish 'Frankenstein' rabbits with 'tentacles' protruding out of their tiny faces.
It sounds like something out of Wallace & Gromit, but these were-rabbits are very much real and have been spotted lurking across Fort Collins in Colorado - which is located roughly an hour's drive north of Denver.
Okay, 'lurking' makes them sound much more sinister than they actually are, while in actual fact, they are just poor little bunnies that contracted a potentially fatal virus that could eventually kill them as the horns grow longer, until eventually they will no longer be able to see or eat, before finally succumbing to starvation.
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It sounds horrific, but that's the worst case scenario; in other cases in cottontail rabbits, the disease will go away after a year.
"It looked like black quills or black toothpicks sticking out all around its mouth," described Fort Collins resident Susan Mansfield, who spoke to WLBT.
"I thought he'd die off during the winter, but he didn't. He came back a second year - and it grew."
What is cottontail rabbit papilloma virus (CRPV)?
Yes, it's called cottontail rabbit papilloma virus (CRPV) and it was first discovered on cottontail rabbits in Midwestern America back in 1933 by Richard E. Shope.
It is also known as Shope papilloma virus - a nod to its discoverer - and it's an oncogenic DNA virus, which just means that it causes tumors.
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They are found on the skin of rabbits, while papillomavirs can also lead to the development of squamous cell carcinomas - cancer.
How does CRPV spread?
Researchers understand that it is transmitted in the first instance through diseases carried by mosquitos and ticks, among other biting insects, but it can also be passed on rabbit-to-rabbit.
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Yes, direct contact between infected rabbits - particularly through skin lesions - can also cause the virus to spread.
Finally, it can also be passed through bedding, food and water bowls, while studies also suggest that papillomaviruses can be transmitted through blood transfusions too... although you'd have to be hopping mad to think rabbits can do that (with the exception of Bugs Bunny).
What have experts said about CRPV?
You'll be glad to hear that CRPV is a non-zootonic disease - meaning it doesn't pass between animals and humans, but that doesn't mean you should go anywhere near them.
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That's because non-zootonic diseases can mutate - which is what we saw with SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes the disease known as Covid-19.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has made its expert opinion on the matter known.
It states, per Eyewitness News 3, that anybody who encounters the infected rabbits must avoid all contact and stay away from them.
Medical experts are urging domestic rabbit owners to keep their pets away from pests, but if they do succumb to a mosquito bite, vets can surgically remove the tumours before malignancy sets in.
Joe Yates