Pet owners are being urged to protect their beloved rabbits and ensure they are vaccinated before cases increase. Photo: Region.
Illawarra veterinarians are urging pet owners to vaccinate their rabbits against an incurable and fatal virus after the disease was released into the wild to help manage the state’s feral population.
Domestic rabbits across the region are at risk of accidentally contracting the deadly calicivirus or Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD) as cases among the wild population spread, with the disease extremely contagious even for pets who stay inside.
“They can contract this virus through either contact with clothing or other items that have been in an area where rabbits are, such as shoes,” Greencross Vet Ashley Sykes said. “Or picking plants or grass from those areas to feed captured rabbits.
“But more commonly we find that they are contracting this virus from biting insects such as mosquitoes and fleas which bite the wild rabbits that have the virus and then bite the captive rabbits.”
If contracted, Dr Sykes said the virus was usually fatal between 12 hours and 9 days, depending on the strain, and there could be few signs before the animal’s sudden death.
Although there is no cure and many ways the virus can be transmitted, there is a vaccine available to protect your pets.
“The vaccine is effective and is available from 10 weeks old and is once a year, so is a fairly low-maintenance vaccine,” Dr Sykes said.
“If we can vaccinate as many captured rabbits as possible to minimise the chance of them contracting that virus, that is absolutely what we want to do.”
But vets are concerned that the message isn’t getting through, and that an influx of rabbit deaths could be on the horizon if owners aren’t vigilant or aware of the danger.
“I definitely do see this virus in captured rabbits a moderate amount; I see a few cases per year, every year and of course unfortunately all of them pass away,” Dr Sykes said.
“They are also all unvaccinated. I personally haven’t seen a vaccinated case contract this virus.
“Of all of the rabbits that I’ve either strongly suspected died of RHD or have confirmed via testing to have died from RHD in the past few years, they have all been indoor rabbits.”
Alongside crucial vaccination pet owners are urged to keep rabbits indoors, or in enclosed hutches with insect proof screens, practise strict hygiene, including sanitising food bowls, water dispensers and enclosures, minimise outdoor exposure and control insects such as mosquitoes and flies.
These preventative measures also help protect rabbits from other illnesses like myxomatosis, which currently is not vaccinated against in Australia.
“The only way that we can prevent that virus is through the exact same control methods as we would for the other one,” Dr Sykes said.
“So avoiding anything that has been in contact where other rabbits have been – changing clothes before going indoors and also avoiding biting insects by using mosquito netting or bringing the rabbits inside at peak mosquito times and making sure they don’t have fleas as well.”
If your pet rabbit is showing any signs of illness, you are urged to contact your vet immediately to give them the best outcome, or prevent further spread to other animals.
More information of rabbit vaccines are available through the Greencross Vets website.
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