RHD-2: Variant Concerns Lead To A New Vaccination

From 2018 medical and press articles highlighted the emergence of RHD2 (VHD-2 or RvHD-2), a variant strain of haemorrhagic diahorrea in rabbits that is rapidly fatal and was not covered by the standard vaccines commonly used in the UK. New vaccinations were developed and a single annual vaccination has been in place for the past few years. However further variants of the RHD2 have been detected that are not covered by the standard Nobivac Myxo-RHD Plus vaccination.

A new Vaccine has been developed to cover the variants and has become available in the UK. The Vaccination has to be given at least 2 weeks away from any other vaccinations and will cover for 1 year. It is available as individual vaccinations for pets or in a 40 dose vial for large groups of rabbits.

Clinical signs of any of the RHD variants are rarely seen due to the dramatic effect of the disease and sudden death is the most reported finding. It is not uncommon for these sudden deaths to not be reported to the practice if owners don’t request post-mortem examination or cremation.

Over the past 5 years the number of sudden deaths being reported in the areas local to our practices have been rising and we have had confirmed fatal cases on a semi regular basis. This may be due to the increase in public awareness of disease in rabbits leading to increased testing but our concern is that it most likely reflects an overall increase RHD-2 cases in the area as an endemic disease. We do not have any confirmed cases of the new variant that the practice is aware of, but it does appear to be of national concern.

The common vaccine used in rabbits is Nobivac Myxo-RHD Plus, this gives protection against myxomatosis and the original strains of RHD1 + RHD2. We would advise clients with large numbers of rabbits to strongly consider the additonal vaccination and of course any client with rabbits may also want to consider the additional vaccination

The vaccines can only be given to healthy rabbits.