80-90 percent of hare population could die due to a virus in Békés County

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Ferenc Boros said that myxomatosis appeared in Hungary around Sopron at the end of the summer, spread from Austria and Burgenland, where its presence was confirmed in the spring. The virus is not new, it appeared in England in the 1990s, in Spain in 2018, and in 2024 it spread eastwards from the northern German provinces. In Hungary, it is already present in Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Csongrád-Csanád, and Békés counties. In the latter place, its appearance is typically island-like; for example, in a hunt in Békésszentandrás, not one of the 1,527 hares killed was infected, while in Dévaványa, 80 percent of the 1,080 hares showed symptoms – the chief hunter said. Three out of every four hares killed in Hungary come from Békés county – he noted.

Myxomatosis is typically spread by mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects

The most striking symptoms are focal lesions on the head and limbs, as well as around the eyes and nose, conjunctivitis, and edematous protrusion of the genitals and anus. The disease is not dangerous to humans – the specialist emphasized.

The Békés County branch of the hunting chamber held a meeting on the subject on Tuesday

Ferenc Boros said that according to experts, there is no sufficiently effective vaccine against the disease, immunity can only be maintained for about 6 months, so vaccination is not a solution. He noted that in previous years – mainly due to the severe drought affecting the Great Plain – there was little vitamin-rich green vegetation, which weakened the rabbits’ immune system. The number of hares fluctuates anyway, it is currently at its peak, and diseases typically affect the population more at this time. There are several hunting associations in Békés County that earn 80-90 percent of their revenue from catching and selling hares, and they are sensitive to the appearance of the disease – said the expert, emphasizing that uninfected individuals can be sold in the same way as before, which happened, for example, after the Békésszentandrás hunt. The solution to curbing the epidemic could be the distribution of appropriate, juicy feed, as well as the practice currently followed by hunting associations: keeping the herd scattered so that they cannot infect each other. According to medical experts, however, in the long term – as was previously the case with hemorrhagic hepatitis – active immunization will provide the solution: the virus will weaken over time, the mortality rate will also decrease, and rabbits will also become less susceptible to it. According to Ferenc Boros, this will take 5-7 years. The secretary said that a research program could be established as a result of Tuesday’s meeting, in which, in addition to the hunting chamber, the University of Veterinary Medicine and the Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences are expected to participate.

MTI