Latest news with #VanHoose
Scientific American
21 hours ago
- Health
- Scientific American
Here's Why Rabbits Are Sprouting Tentacle Horns
Rabbits in northern Colorado have been spotted with bizarre, somewhat grisly horns on their face. But wildlife officials say the bunnies are likely ultimately going to be okay. They're also not a danger to others—at least, not to nonrabbits. The tentacle-faced bunnies are infected with Shope papillomavirus, a member of the same viral family that can cause warts in humans. Shope papillomavirus is known to affect only rabbits and hares, not humans or other animals, says Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW). For most rabbits, it's also a harmless infection. Infected animals 'are able to clear it from their system on their own,' Van Hoose says. Once the virus is gone, the growths, which are made of the same keratin found in hair and nails, eventually fall off. In a minority of cases, the infection can induce squamous cell cancer. The infection can also cause problems if the associated growths pop up near the eyes or mouth, where they might interfere with foraging and eating, Van Hoose says. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. It's not clear whether there are actually more rabbits than usual infected with Shope papillomavirus in northern Colorado this summer, Van Hoose says. CPW had not received any reports of horned-faced rabbits before a local news story published on August 8 drew attention to sightings in Fort Collins, Colo. Since then multiple people have called the agency, Van Hoose says, but it's hard to tell how many infected rabbits there really are. 'It's also difficult to say, if we get 10 reports, if it's 10 different rabbits or if it's two rabbits that maybe we're seeing five different times,' she says. The growths themselves are not infectious. The virus spreads through bites from mosquitoes, ticks and fleas, so it tends to peak in summer and fade away in the colder months. The discoverer and namesake of the virus, virologist Richard Shope, first identified the pathogen in 1933 in the U.S. Midwest. Shope also was the first to identify the influenza A virus and was among the first to pinpoint that particular flu pathogen as the culprit of the deadly 1918 pandemic. His work on rabbit papillomavirus formed the basis of understanding human papillomavirus (HPV) strains, some of which can cause cancer. This line of research ultimately led to the development of the HPV vaccine, which dramatically reduces the risk of cervical and other cancers linked to HPV. Though the horned rabbits aren't a danger to humans or pets, Van Hoose advises people to keep their distance from the creatures, as they should with any wild animal, because rabbits can pass along other pathogens. 'Once you realize these probably aren't harmful to rabbits, you can kind of appreciate the science at work,' she says.
Jordan News
a day ago
- Health
- Jordan News
Pictures of 'zombie-rabbits' with twisting black horns go viral - Jordan News
Pictures of 'zombie-rabbits' with twisting black horns go viral Photos of rabbits in Colorado with black, horn-like growths around their faces have gone viral, with some describing the animals as "Frankenstein-", "zombie-" and "demon-rabbits". اضافة اعلان Residents in Fort Collins near Denver recently began posting pictures of the cottontail bunnies, causing a stir online. "This is how the zombie virus starts," posted one Instagram user on a post showing the rabbits. "We've got freaking zombie rabbits now?!" posted another on YouTube. So what's going on? Firstly, the pictures are real - despite some wishing they weren't. "One time I need this to be AI," wrote one Instagram user on a post showing the horned bunnies. The rabbits are suffering from a relatively harmless disease called Shope Papilloma Virus, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Although the wildlife agency is getting calls from people spotting the infected rabbits in Fort Collins, they're not an unusual sight, according to spokesperson Kara Van Hoose. The disease is mainly found in America's Midwest, according to the University of Missouri, and is more noticeable in the summer, when the fleas and ticks that spread the virus are most active. The virus can also spread through rabbit-to-rabbit contact but not to other species like humans or dogs and cats, according to Ms Van Hoose. People are being warned not to touch the infected rabbits, however. Sky news
Time Magazine
a day ago
- Health
- Time Magazine
What to Know About the Horned 'Zombie' Rabbits Hopping Around Colorado
On Aug. 8, the calls started rolling in to Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Scary-looking rabbits were hopping around Fort Collins. These weren't your standard cute, fluffy bunnies; they had horn-like growths protruding from their faces and bodies. People on social media described them as 'zombie' and 'demon' rabbits and noted their resemblance to Frankenstein. One Fort Collins resident told a local news station that she had seen a rabbit that looked like it had 'black quills or black toothpicks sticking out all around his or her mouth.' The rabbits didn't hop out of the set of a horror flick: They have cottontail rabbit papillomavirus, a skin disease that leads to alarming-looking growths. 'It exhibits as these wart-like growths on their face—sometimes they're smaller, like little nodules, and sometimes they're bigger, like tentacles or horns,' says Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. We asked experts what the virus is, how it affects rabbits, and if humans should be concerned. What exactly is the rabbit papillomavirus? The rabbit papillomavirus—which is most frequently seen in the Midwest—was identified by the cancer researcher Richard E. Shope in the 1930s. (It's also known as the Shope papillomavirus.) It has since been used as a model to help scientists study the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can similarly cause genital warts and lead to certain types of cancer. Rabbits get the virus when they're bitten by ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes, and can spread it to each other through direct contact. Infection tends to be seasonal: It's especially common in the summer, when biting insects are most active. 'We go through this every year,' Van Hoose says. Factors like warm weather and a bad mosquito season (which is the case this summer in Colorado) can influence how prevalent papillomavirus is each year. Read More: 6 Things to Eat to Reduce Your Cancer Risk The virus causes warty, black lesions around the neck and shoulders in wild cottontail rabbits, and around the ears and eyelids in domestic rabbits, says A. Alonso Aguirre, dean of Colorado State University's Warner College of Natural Resources and an expert in wildlife diseases. Sometimes, it shows up as a tumor on rabbits' legs, especially on the surface of their hind feet. These tumors are firm, white, and moist on the surface, Aguirre says, and generally persist for up to 150 days—and then disappear. 'It's very painful,' he adds. Can rabbits recover? Despite the gruesome way it looks, cottontail rabbit papillomavirus is often benign, and many rabbits end up fighting it off on their own. Research suggests that in about 35% of affected rabbits, papillomas simply disappear within six months. Cottontail rabbits typically aren't treated. 'I don't know if you've ever tried to capture a rabbit, but it's very difficult,' Van Hoose points out. 'They're very fast.' In other cases, however, the protrusions can affect the rabbits' eyes and mouth, preventing them from being able to eat, drink, or see clearly. That can lead to starvation and other life-ending complications, Van Hoose says. The virus can also turn into squamous cell cancer with metastases. While wild rabbits mostly just develop warts when infected with cottontail papillomavirus, domestic rabbits experience much more severe illness, says Thomas M. Donnelly, a veterinarian who specializes in laboratory animal medicine and has studied the virus. The majority develop invasive epidermoid carcinomas (meaning they begin in squamous cells), he says, which are typically fatal. Is there any risk to humans? What about other animals? The rabbit papillomavirus only affects hares and can't be transmitted to humans or other types of animals. Still, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has instructed residents not to touch or otherwise attempt to help infected rabbits. 'That's what we tell everyone with wildlife,' regardless of whether the animals are sick, Van Hoose says. 'It's just practicing those really smart wildlife principles of keeping your distance, not feeding them, and not trying to step in and help, because there's nothing we can really do.' A public frenzy It makes sense why people are so intrigued by the horned rabbits. They're unusual and weird-looking; plus, rabbits are prevalent in many neighborhoods, says Valerie McKenzie, a professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado. 'You're used to seeing, 'Oh, cute bunny,'' she says. 'Now it's, 'Oh my gosh, crazy bunny with these things all over it.'' While the horned rabbits are currently captivating wildlife observers, the virus isn't the only unique way disease can show up in animals, she adds: 'There's all kinds of parasites and diseases that cause wild things in animals, that are really kind of cool and exciting.' McKenzie hopes the viral nature of the Colorado 'zombie rabbits' inspires more research to better understand the disease. Read More: What an HPV Diagnosis Really Means It's been interesting to see the spectrum of reactions play out, Van Hoose says. 'Some people think they look really gross, and they're weirded out by the growths on their face—they don't really want to see it,' she says. 'Other people, myself included, think it looks kind of metal and kind of cool.' It's unclear exactly how many infected rabbits are hopping about, but Colorado Parks and Wildlife has received more than a dozen sightings, mostly in the northern part of the state. Since the initial reports, Van Hoose has spent her days on the phone, talking to reporters clamoring for information about the rabbit papillomavirus. 'This is one of the busiest days I've had at Colorado Parks and Wildlife,' she told TIME on Aug. 13. The end of the summer is typically the agency's most hectic time of year anyway, as people flock to the area's outdoor attractions. 'Every day there's a new wildlife question that comes in, and that includes dealing with bears and an invasive bighead carp species that we pulled out of a small pond,' she says. 'I didn't think that rabbits would become our most interesting story.' Van Hoose hasn't seen an infected rabbit yet, but she hopes that changes soon: 'I feel like I'm kind of owed one now, since I've been talking about it so much,' she says.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Colorado's ‘Frankenstein bunnies' with hornlike growths raise concerns
COLORADO – With black spikes growing on their heads, tentacles protruding from their mouths and slug-like growths blocking their eyes, several rabbits hopping around Colorado this week have invited social media comparison to nightmarish mutants. But local residents and pet owners sh ould n ot fear the unsightly creatures munching on grass in their backyards: The bunnies are simply infected with cottontail rabbit papillomavirus, a mostly benign infection that cannot s pread to other species, said Ms Kara Van H oose, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Rabbits typically overcome the disease on their own, she said, and it becomes a cause for concern only if it hinders their ability to eat or see. Still, it can cause growths in infected rabbits that resemble 'gross' warts or horns, she said. A resident in Fort Collins, Colorado, a city about 1 05km n orth of Denver, first reported an infected rabbit on Aug 8, Ms V an Hoose said. Since then, her department has fielded more than a dozen calls about sightings, mostly from people in northern Colorado. 'We're so used to seeing rabbits, so they're like, 'Oh my god, what is that on its face?' ' Ms Van Hoose said. ''I know what a rabbit is supposed to look like, and that's not it.'' It's not the first time this month that bunnies have driven the internet into a frenzy. Several rabbits used in a photo shoot by the fake heiress known a s Anna Delvey were recently abandoned and then rescued in Prospect Park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Cottontail rabbit papillomavirus is transmitted through biting insects such as fleas and mosquitoes, so rabbits are more likely to contract it in the summer, when interactions with bugs are more common, Ms Van Hoose said. There's no cure or treatment for the disease, she said, so there are few ways to help. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Jalan Bukit Merah fire: PMD battery could have started fatal blaze, says SCDF Singapore askST: What to do in the event of a fire at home? Singapore 4 housebreaking suspects taken to Bukit Timah crime scene under police escort Asia AirAsia flight from KL to Incheon lands at the wrong airport in South Korea Singapore Reformative training for teen who cheated man of $47k Rolex watch on former stepdad's instructions Opinion Could telco consolidation spell the end of attractive mobile plans? Asia Strong India-Singapore ties key to economic growth amid 'volatile landscape': DPM Gan Asia Citizenship for foreign talent: How this footballer from Brazil became Vietnam's favourite 'Son' Officials are not sure how many rabbits are infected because some people may be reporting the same ones repeatedly, Ms Van Hoose said. The virus will n ot infect most household pets, but people should keep pet rabbits indoors if they see infected wild rabbits in their area, she said. The disease is more severe in domesticated rabbits and can cause cancer, according to a National Institutes of Health study. Pet rabbits should be taken to a veterinarian if they are infected, according to a tipsheet from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Residents should also avoid feeding or interacting with the infected rabbits, and instead should enjoy the novelty of their strange appearances from afar, Ms Van Hoose said. 'Nature is metal,' she said, 'and this can be kind of cool looking on different rabbits'. NYTIMES
Ammon
a day ago
- Health
- Ammon
Pictures of 'zombie-rabbits' with twisting black horns go viral
Ammon News - Photos of rabbits in Colorado with black, horn-like growths around their faces have gone viral, with some describing the animals as "Frankenstein-", "zombie-" and "demon-rabbits". Residents in Fort Collins near Denver recently began posting pictures of the cottontail bunnies, causing a stir online. "This is how the zombie virus starts," posted one Instagram user on a post showing the rabbits. "We've got freaking zombie rabbits now?!" posted another on YouTube. So what's going on? Firstly, the pictures are real - despite some wishing they weren't. "One time I need this to be AI," wrote one Instagram user on a post showing the horned bunnies. The rabbits are suffering from a relatively harmless disease called Shope Papilloma Virus, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Although the wildlife agency is getting calls from people spotting the infected rabbits in Fort Collins, they're not an unusual sight, according to spokesperson Kara Van Hoose. The disease is mainly found in America's Midwest, according to the University of Missouri, and is more noticeable in the summer, when the fleas and ticks that spread the virus are most active. The virus can also spread through rabbit-to-rabbit contact but not to other species like humans or dogs and cats, according to Ms Van Hoose.
