Saturday, April 16, 2022

New Vaccine for Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease


A new vaccine has been developed
for Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease, a form of hepatitis. 

The disease variant, known as RHDV2, has decimated rabbit populations in the UK and is currently spreading through wild and domestic rabbit populations in the U.S., Mexico, and beyond. The disease progresses rapidly and is fatal for up to 90 percent of infected rabbits.

A web site serving rabbit owners lists more than 400 clinics and other sites offering RHDV2 vaccination.

About 1.7 million households in the U.S. keep at least one rabbit as a pet, and there is not yet any way to vaccinate the wild rabbit population. So far, wild rabbit infection is mostly in Oregon and Colorado, but it will spread.  

Special attention is being given to trapping and vaccinating the endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, the smallest species in North America, and the only one to den underground.

The virus is now endemic in 11 U.S. states, and cases have popped up in wild or domestic rabbits in 19 states over the past year.

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