A new type of deadly animal has erupted in North America, potentially killing hares and threatening ecological balance.

Compilation: novel coronavirus pneumonia has infected more than 5 million people since the outbreak of Joseph Xia in late 2019, of which more than 1 million 600 thousand people in the United States are infected, far exceeding other countries.however, in addition to the new coronavirus, another animal virus is also raging in North America.on May 20, 2020, science published an article entitled "a dead virus is killing wild rabbits in North America", reporting the outbreak of this animal virus in North America.in southwestern North America, a deadly virus is spreading rapidly among rabbits.it is reported that the virus can cause hemorrhagic diseases, and the virus has spread to Southern California last week, and experts say the virus may cause the extinction of rabbits.in response, Hayley Lanier, a mammalian at the University of Oklahoma, said: "the situation is very serious. The survival of hares is threatened, but we can only watch from the shore.".in the 1980s, the hemorrhagic hare virus was first transmitted worldwide and seriously threatened rabbit populations in China and Europe.the strain of this new pathogen is named hemorrhagic rabbit virus 2 (rhdv2), which is easy to recombine and therefore has multiple hosts.it is reported that the new virus will not pose a fatal threat to adult rabbits, it will only kill young rabbits.in the Iberian Peninsula, 60% to 70% of rabbits are infected with the virus. It is worth noting that when the number of rabbits drops, those carnivores that eat rabbits are also on the verge of extinction. For example, the number of Spanish emperor Eagles has decreased by 45%, and the number of Iberian Bobcats has decreased by 65%.hemorrhagic rabbit virus 2 (rhdv2) is highly infectious and can survive in animal carcasses for at least 3 months.carnivores and insects can transmit the virus through feces.in response, virologist and epidemiologist Robyn hall believes that the virus may continue to spread throughout North America.first found in rabbits, the virus was first detected in rabbits in North America in 2018 and then spread to three other states.in early March, biologist Gary Roemer accidentally found the infected rabbit because his hound dog successfully captured a sick rabbit. Within a few days, 18 rabbit bodies appeared in a small area.Anne justice Allen, a biologist and veterinarian from neighboring states, said: "this is an extraordinary phenomenon. We have never found this virus in rabbits."she has sent several dead rabbits to the US wildlife health center (NWHC), which is conducting genetic testing for the virus. the sequencing report of the virus was submitted to the world organization for animal health (OIE) on May 5. The results showed that the strains in the southwestern United States were different from those in other states and Canada. it is pointed out that the genome of the virus will be made public soon, and more biologists will have a better understanding of the virus. in fact, in 2017, researchers have found that hemorrhagic rabbit virus 2 (rhdv2) can kill cotton tailed rabbits. Note: Cotton tailed rabbits are a genus of rabbit family, also known as point rabbits, with 17 species, which is the second largest genus of rabbit family. warning! All rabbit species in North America, whether rabbits or hares, may be susceptible, researchers warn. biologists are concerned that the virus may be particularly detrimental to some species on the verge of extinction. in general, only two species in North America are considered stable, while the remaining species are declining significantly. the virus has spread to northern Mexico, where rabbit species are rich in diversity, and rare and endangered rabbit species, such as volcano rabbit and Davis mountain cotton tailed rabbit, are living in the area. therefore, mammalian Jes ú s fern á ndez suggested that local ranchers should immediately burn the dead rabbits infected with the virus and bury them 1 meter underground. as an important part of the local food chain, if the number of rabbits drops sharply, hyenas may hunt cattle, ranchers may use poison to kill hyenas, and poisonous hyena carcasses will harm the decaying vultures. it takes a long time to develop the vaccine, and the cost is high. If the rhdv2 virus is infected, the researchers hope that the vaccine can protect the rabbit population. in Europe, commercial vaccines for rabbits cannot be used in wild species, as vaccines are made from inactivated infectious viruses, so the vaccines themselves may also transmit harmful pathogens. research institutions in Portugal are developing a new project aimed at providing oral vaccines to rabbit populations in the Iberian Peninsula. the project started in October 2018 with a budget of about 120000 euros to develop a prototype vaccine based on virus like particles, which is not infectious. the project is expected to achieve effective initial results by the end of 2021, and if successful, a vaccine license will be obtained in two to three years. however, wildlife biologist Robert Dusek warned: "the project takes too long to develop and is expensive. At the same time, another wild ecologist, Carlos rouco, was skeptical, saying: "the spread of this virus is unstoppable, but a certain proportion of individuals are resistant to the virus. "References: