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A Real Rabbit Worry .....

You may have seen in the national press recently that a new strain of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease, previously seen in mainland Europe only, has raised its very ugly head here in the UK.

In the past ten days, Valley Vets are aware of five sudden rabbit deaths in the Cwmbran area and two in Cardiff. These are suspected (but not proven) to be a result of RHD2.

A vaccination is available in France for this new virus strain. We have been trying to import this vaccine to protect our patients for the past few weeks and have now been provided a delivery date at the end of this month (but this is still not guaranteed).

The virus is spread in many ways – wind, wild birds, on hay/greens, biting insects and people's clothes.

In the absence of an RHD2 vaccine we advise owners to keep rabbits indoors, use barriers (e.g. net curtains taped over any open windows) to try to prevent insect access, use insect control measures on the rabbit ( e.g. Rearguard or Advantage for Rabbits ), minimise contact with any other rabbits, and their owners and be as careful as possible with food purchases.

It is also important to ensure your rabbit is vaccinated against RHD1 and Myxomatosis. This UK vaccine is currently available at Valley Vets..

As soon as we have more information about the availability of the RHD2 vaccine we will let you know.

If you have further questions about RHD2 please look at  www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk

Please share this post with any rabbit owners you know.