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Rabbit Vaccinations
We recommend you have your rabbits vaccinated routinely against viral haemorrhagic disease (HVD) and myxomatosis. Both can be rapidly fatal in an unvaccinated rabbit and there no cures once infected - intensive supportive treatment is sometimes successful but prevention, as always, is better than cure. Protection can be achieved by vaccination. Both viruses can be spread by direct contact between rabbits (wild and domesticated) but also via indirect contact such as people , clothing, shoes, other objects and fleas. Vaccinations against both viruses should be given yearly but unfortunately we cannot give both at the same time - ideally a 14 day gap between vaccinations is advised. MYXOMATOSIS Caused by a pox virus which is spread by biting insects, typically the rabbit flea, although the cat flea can also transmit it. The disease has been seen in house rabbits that have never been outdoors so all pet rabbits should be considered to be at risk. Myxomatosis can occur at any time of year but in this country most cases occur in late summer/early autumn and early winter months. We can prevent myxomatosis by Vaccination and Insect control VACCINATION: [Live attenuated vaccine] Can start at 6 weeks of age. Animals should normally be re-vaccinated annually. However where there is a high risk of infection (e.g. rabbit sanctuaries, heavy flea populations, areas where myxomatosis is rife) re-vaccination every 6 months is suggested. FLEAS: 2 types of fleas can affect rabbits 1. rabbit stick-tight flea ( spilopsylla cuniculi) 2. cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) Therefore if rabbits live with dogs and cats then they may pick up a cat flea. Cat fleas can be carried on bunnies without causing a problem, or they can cause pruritis/severe itching. The rabbit fleas as their name suggests usually attach to pinnal (ear flap) margins but may be found anywhere. Treatment of cat fleas: Seeing an adult flea is usually only part of the problem because the eggs and larval stages can be harboured in carpets and soft furnishings. Therefore with respect to cat fleas we need to tackle the environmental stages as well as the adult fleas. Having dogs or cats in the household with fleas increases the likelihood of there being eggs and larvae in the carpets etc. Environmental control in the house is easy - can use Nuvan Staykill. Killing fleas on dogs and cats is easy as there are lots of safe licensed products available, however there are no such licensed insecticidal products for use in rabbits. Permethrin-containing flea powders e.g. head-to-tail have been used There is an insect repellent available called Xenex - it contains plant oils (coconut and soya) and their derivatives. It is safe to use on animals (dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea-pigs), on bedding and in hutches. It is reported to repel flies, fleas, ticks and lice. HAEMORRHAGIC VIRAL DISEASE (HVD) This is another very nasty, often fatal disease. Affected rabbits become severely ill with, as the name haemorrhagic suggests, internal bleeding in lungs, guts and urinary tract. It is caused by a virus (calici virus) and is very infectious. It affects rabbits above 8 weeks old usually and 70-80% of affected rabbits will become extremely ill within 2-3 days of being exposed to the virus. Signs seen are fever, depression, anorexia, lethargy, diarrhoea, however these vague signs might not be noticed as the disease can progress very quickly. Nearly all of affected rabbits will die suddenly with few clinical signs. In the terminal stages they can have nose bleeds, have fits, or become comatose and die. HVD is spread in the same way as myxomatosis i.e. between rabbits and on objects e.g. food and water containers, people etc. VACCINE [Cylap HVD Liquid oil adjuvanted vaccine Contains inactivated hvd virus]
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