Deadly rabbit virus kills two at Chicago bunny cuddling business

Erin Holcomb adopted her rabbit, Ziggy, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A rescue rabbit with traces of Silver Fox, Ziggy, now 3, quickly became a part of the Holcomb’s family.

“We love him like people love a cat or a dog,” said Holcomb, who lives in North Center.

Earlier this month, Holcomb boarded Ziggy for about two weeks at Cuddle Bunny in Lakeview before she headed out of town. Cuddle Bunny, at 2901 N. Clark St., offers boarding services for pet rabbits. It also charges visitors for in-house interactions with resident rabbits — similar to a cat cafe — and offers programming such as bunny yoga and Pilates.

Last week, while Ziggy was still boarded, the first confirmed cases of rabbit hemorrhagic disease in Illinois, a contagious and fatal viral illness that affects rabbits, were confirmed to have originated at Cuddle Bunny.

Two Polish rabbits, sisters named Tia and Tamera, died from rabbit hemorrhagic disease, confirmed Cuddle Bunny owner Barbara Burdick. Tia and Tamera, who were resident rabbits rather than boarded bunnies, were not vaccinated for the virus that causes the disease, Burdick said.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture confirmed rabbit hemorrhagic disease had been detected in Cook County but did not disclose the location.

“Two rabbits at the same location died and subsequently tested positive for RHDV2,” said Krista Lisser, a spokesperson for the department, in an email.

“We are not aware of any additional cases and have not received any test results that confirm additional cases,” Lisser said.

The disease is more widespread in other areas, including in Western U.S. states. In the Midwest, it has been detected in states, including Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, according to the department.

The vaccine for RHDV2 has been available in Illinois since October 2021, said Melissa Giese, a veterinarian with Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital in Skokie.

Though rabbit hemorrhagic disease is “extremely fatal,” Giese said, the vaccine is known to be effective.

Giese said an exact percentage effectiveness was not yet available because it is a relatively new vaccine, though she said it would be unusual for a fully vaccinated rabbit to die from the disease. Giese said she helped coordinate confirmation of the RHDV2 cases at Cuddle Bunny with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease, which is not dangerous to humans, can be spread by exposure to an infected rabbit’s bodily fluids or blood, according to the USDA. It can also be spread by people, who can carry it on their shoes or clothing, or from contaminated carcasses, food or water.

Holcomb was distraught to learn that Ziggy, who is now under quarantine from other rabbits, had been exposed to the disease. Ziggy was vaccinated for RHDV2 in 2022, she said.

Holcomb said she had assumed that Cuddle Bunny, which had solicited donations on social media to help cover vaccine costs in October 2022, had vaccinated all of its rabbits.

She said she went into “panic mode” when Burdick called her and asked her if she knew what hemorrhagic disease was.

“Yes, I know what it is, I know it’s fatal,” Holcomb said. “My heart was pounding.”

Holcomb said she was not notified of the exposure until shortly before she was due to pick up Ziggy on July 16, though the cases had been detected as RHDV2 on July 13. Burdick said she learned about the detection July 14.

“I think that the way that the information was relayed to me is the most upsetting,” Holcomb said.

“As a pet owner, I feel like it’s my right to be aware that my rabbit is in a compromised situation and could potentially die.”

Ziggy is due for a booster shot for RHDV2 and will receive it when he is out of quarantine, Holcomb said.

Rachael Sanders, director of the House Rabbit Society of Chicago, a rabbit rescue group, said she had been preparing for the arrival of RHDV2 in Illinois over the last two or three years.

Sanders has only been president of HRS Chicago for about two months but has been vaccinating her independent rescues since October 2021, she said.

“I was hoping that a business that lets the public into the facility would have their rabbits vaccinated,” she said. “But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”

Giese said most facilities that board rabbits in Illinois do not have vaccine requirements.

“As unfortunate as it is, it could’ve happened to any facility,” Giese said.

A former human resources executive, Burdick opened the cuddle business in June 2020 after a friend returning from a visit to Japan told her about an owl cafe there. While it got off to a slow start, a couple of TikTok videos led to a boom in business, along with pandemic-weary customers seeking respite among the rabbits, Burdick previously told the Tribune.

In an interview Friday, Burdick said she regretted not vaccinating Tia and Tamera. She said at least two of the roughly dozen rabbits at the location had been fully vaccinated and some others had had their first dose.

“We feel a great deal of sadness and remorse about the whole situation,” she said. Burdick said she suspected the virus had been brought in by a visitor from out of state over the July Fourth weekend.

Cuddle Bunny is closed through at least early August while the remaining resident rabbits are quarantined. Burdick said she does not plan to open for business again until the rest of the rabbits are fully vaccinated. Cuddle Bunny will also institute a vaccine requirement for boarded rabbits, which it had not done previously, she said.

Cuddle Bunny’s other location, which is in Schaumburg, is also closed to visitors for the time being while all the rabbits are being vaccinated, Burdick said, though the rabbits there are not under quarantine.

In posts on Twitter and Facebook in October 2022, Cuddle Bunny solicited donations for RHDV2 vaccinations and said a “generous donor” had already provided $1,000 to go toward vaccines. The rabbit business was seeking a total of $2,000 to cover the vaccine costs. In the posts, Cuddle Bunny described rabbit hemorrhagic disease as “Bunny Ebola.”

Vaccinating a rabbit with the two-shot series costs about $50 in addition to vet visit fees, Giese said.

Burdick said she could not account offhand for exactly how much money Cuddle Bunny had spent on vaccines but said the donations went into a fund for veterinary care.

“As a business,” she said, “we have to anticipate shouldering some of the veterinary expenses.”

Giese said that to protect their animals, rabbit owners in Illinois should get them vaccinated and keep them inside.