AUSTRALIANS: IMPORTANT INFO

[jerseygirl]

Regarding the European strain of calici virus. 

Not sure how many Australian readers BB has but it can’t hurt to post this here. Please share on social media for other Australian rabbit owners. 

These are similar articles:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/deadly-european-calicivirus-killing-pet-rabbits-in-the-act-rspca-warns-20151208-gli2g6.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-08/new-strain-of-deadly-virus-killing-canberra-rabbits/7009636

[MoxieMeadows]

[Bam]

I take the liberty to paste this wiki link in case so is interested in this awful disease:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_haemorrhagic_disease

We have RHD Europe and there is a double-vaccine against RHD and Myxo, I vaccinate my buns with it yearly. This sounds very disturbing though, if this is a European strain and the normal vaccine doesn’t protect from it.

[MimzMum]

Gosh Jerz, what a terrible thing.
I hope your bunnies (and all the other BB Oz bunnies) are okay. Thinking of you. xx

[jerseygirl]

** Bump

European version of the virus is definitely travelling within Australia. There have been confirmed cases in my State now. Seeing tons of alerts and awareness posts on public facebook pages There’s some good info coming out of Rabbit specific clinics.

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1016790885050903&id=551941821535814&substory_index=0
http://www.facebook.com/Therabbitdoctor/posts/1719466371606970

[Love4Bunny]

Thanks for the update, Jerseygirl.

[Azerane]

The Australian Veterinary Association website has some good information on this strain and the recommendations for vaccination in regards to increasing the chance of resistance. http://www.ava.com.au/rabbit-calicivirus

I believe the new strain has now officially been documented in Victoria, NSW, and the ACT. It’s bad enough we don’t have a mxyo vaccine here, but to have deaths from something we’ve been vaccinating for is quite scary.

[jerseygirl]

Thanks Azerane! I was looking for that last night.

[Serenity]

Is it probable that this could spread to America? I read one or two of the posted articles but it didn’t really say anything. Just afraid for my buns and temped not to let them outside anymore, though I hope not because it’s their favorite time of day.

[joea64]

VERY concerning. Here in the USA, there aren’t any requirements to vaccinate rabbits for myxomatosis or RHD, though myxomatosis is present in a somewhat comparatively attenuated form in several Western states. I’ve been more worried about things like snuffles and E. cuniculi myself.

[Bam]

The risk of myxo and rvhd is smaller in the USA because cottontail rabbits don’t seem susceptible to those diseases. So you don’t have a huge reservoir of those viruses in your populations of wild rabbits as the case is in Europe and Aussie and NZ. That’s a huge advantage since both these diseases can be transferred by mosquitos and ticks.

There are no vaccines against myxo and the RVHDs approved in the USA. It’s probably because demand is low = not much profit to be made from marketing those vaccines.

[Serenity]

Oh thank God, I don’t have to force my babies to stay inside. We have a TON of wild rabbits where I live, they even sometimes like to run around in the roads, though I’ve never found any dead ones. Hopefully the disease doesn’t spread far. Praying for all of you and your bunnies who are still susceptible!

[MountainBuns]

Oh No, Its almost spring and that means there will be a lot of rabbits! Rabbits that were hit by cars, rabbits running in the woods, rabbits eating the grass off my lawn. Good thing I do not let Caroline outside. I hope none of our rabbits get infected!

[Author]

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