USDA Retracts notification of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease

LITTLE ROCK – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has contacted the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to report a significant error at their Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory on a previously reported finding of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease in Arkansas.
On March 30, 2021, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services’ (VS), National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Foreign Animal Disease Laboratory (NVSL-FADDL) reported a detection of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Type 2 (RHDV2) in one domestic rabbit in northeast Arkansas. NVSL-FADDL notified the Arkansas State Animal Health Official and the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, which initiated the appropriate disease response activities.
The Department has received notification from the NVSL-FADDL that ancillary testing and review of other diagnostic cases revealed an error which led to the previously reported positive finding. The Department is currently working to notify the appropriate rabbit and veterinarian communities.