What diseases can I protect my rabbit against?
When should I vaccinate my rabbit?
What are these diseases?

What diseases can I protect my rabbit against?

There are two diseases that your rabbit can be protected against:

• Myxomatosis
• Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD)

These diseases cause suffering and death. They are incurable.

When should I vaccinate my rabbit?

Young rabbits can be vaccinated from six weeks old against myxomatosis and from 12 weeks against VHD. Unfortunately the vaccines cannot be given at the same time. Both vaccines require regular boosters; myxomatosis every 6 months and VHD every year.

To summarise:

• Give Myxomatosis vaccine between 6 and 10 weeks.
• Give VHD vaccine at 12 weeks.
• Repeat Myxomatosis vaccine every 6 months.
• Repeat VHD vaccine every 12 months.
• When both vaccines are due at the same time, they have to given 2 weeks apart.

What are these diseases?

Myxomatosis                                             

• Myxomatosis is a viral infection.
• It is spread by mainly by mosquitoes and fleas.
• It is widespread in the wild rabbit population.
• It causes swelling around the head and face, a sticky discharge from the eyes and nose and an upper respiratory infection. Affected rabbits become blind, weak and slow moving. They cannot eat and drink and if wild are easy prey or vulnerable to traffic.
• The illness is slowly progressive and usually fatal. It is kinder to euthanase an affected rabbit.

Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD).

• VHD is a viral infection.
• The virus survives in the environment, so can be transmitted by bedding and indirect contact via people’s shoes, clothing etc. It is also spread by direct contact from rabbit to rabbit.
• Infected animals succumb so rapidly to the virus, the first indication of a problem might be simply finding them dead. It causes a high temperature and internal bleeding..
• Infection is almost always fatal.