New research confirms cases of a rabbit virus found in hares. The first UK cases of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus type 2 (RHDV2) have been detected in dead hares found in two locations — Essex and Dorset. RHDV2 normally affects rabbits, but the disease is known to have jumped to European brown hares in Italy, Spain, France and Australia. This is the first time that RHDV2 has been found in hares in the UK.