Yer thinkin' of hook worm, it goes dormant in could weather most of the time and is not a problem to humans if ya don't eat the rabbit guts or walk barefoot in rabbit poop with bare feet. This used ta be common among rural folks who did chores bare foot. The real one to worry about with rabbits is tularemia or tularaemia and is a disease similar to Boooobonic Plaaage.
It is spread by flees, ticks and field dressin' rabbits. Most infected ones die off after one or two hard frosts. My family always used rubber gloves when dressin' rabbits and only after a hard frost. If the liver of a rabbit does not look normal in any way, do not continue and wash hands verry well. Today most outbreaks are spotted very quickly and when there is an outbreak do not handle any rabbits or squirrels cause squirrels get it to along with any other rodent.
Bugs bunny claims to have it in one cartoon and scares the bejeebers out of Elmar Fudd. The funny thing is this disease was reconized in the 1920 and named, although many call it rabbit fever just as Bugs and Elmer did. This cartoon was made in the 1930's when there was a lot of incedints of it because poor rural families ate a lot of rabbit at all times of the year. My mother had a cousin die of this disease in the early 1940's and I think that is why we were always so careful with rabbits.
Now as for the rest, they are delishious when properly cooked. There are many good recipeeees for them. Not a true historic one, but slow cooked in mushroom soup is good. It also gives you no fuss gravy fer the biscuits.
My self I like the taste of wild rabbit (cottontail) better than domestic rabbits. Just personal. But at family picnics for the Hickey side of the family I always looked over the fried chcken that is at every large family picnic. I was lookin' fer the ones with four drumsticks, cause I like rabbit better than chicken.
Did I mention that many of my Mothers, Uncles and two of her brothers used to raise rabbits fer eatin'.