RHDV2 Vaccine Advice

[FantasyFanVII]

Hi all. I’m in a state where RHDV2 has been found. I have two new 11 week old bunnies and one 10 1/2 year old bunny. All the bunnies are indoor only and only travel if they have to go to the vet. None of them have been vaccinated.

Both my local vets have said not to worry about it as they’re indoor only and neither of the vets have had cases of RHDV2 in our area.

I’m still a little anxious though. I’m worried I’ll track something in from the first infected wild bunny in our area and that’ll be the end. Am I just being paranoid?

I’m hesitant to just get it done though because they are so young/old. I don’t know if the younger ones especially would even be eligible for the vaccine or if either age would put them at higher risks of side effects.

Does anyone here have any experience vaccinating very young/old bunnies? Also what would you do in my situation?

I know you’re probably not vets, I just figured I’d ask the rabbit community for a bit of advice.

[DanaNM]

I would definitely get them vaccinated. Buns can be safely vaccinated as young as 7 weeks (according to the FAQ sheet for the Medgene vaccine, the one currently available in the USA),  and I had my senior bun vaccinated at age 11, 12, and 13 with absolutely no ill effects. I also helped our rescue with a vaccine clinic and over hundreds of vaccinated buns, including very young  (8 weeks) and old, the worst side effect we saw was a bun with a slightly sore shoulder for 1 day.

RHDV is incredibly contagious and can be transmitted through feed, insects, and even on your shoes. In my mind there is no need to risk it when the vaccine is super safe and effective, and the virus is basically 100% fatal. Also, vaccinating the population is the best way to prevent it from spreading in your area, so I’m very surprised your vets aren’t taking it seriously!

This is timely because I actually just had my newest bun vaccinated today! She said at her clinic they have vaccinated over 400 rabbits at this point and haven’t had any negative effects in any of the buns.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

I was hoping Dana would reply to this, bc I know she has extensive experience with this, both with her own buns and the shelter buns she has worked with.

I am in Europe and we got the RVHD2 vaccine here in the fall of 2016. I vaccinate my buns yearly (our current vaccine is given once per year) even though my buns are house buns. As Dana says, the virus is very resistant and easily transmitted, unlike many other viruses.

I dont hesitate to vaccinate my own buns, since this virus is so very deadly. My youngest bun was first vaccinated at 8 weeks of age.

 

[FantasyFanVII]

Between this and the Reddit post I made that got ~40 replies saying do it I’ve been convinced. I’m getting all 3 bunnies vaccinated. The trick now is actually doing it. My local vets don’t normally carry the vaccine, but one said they’d look into getting a full bottle and I’d pay for all of it. No idea what that’ll cost yet.

The alternative is driving an 1 1/2 one way, so 3 hours total, to a vet who normally has the vaccine. I’m worried about the stress it’ll put on my senior rabbit though.

Note: They also aren’t bonded yet and the young ones are seperated because they’re unfixed boy/girl so all 3 would be in seperate carries so I’m not sure how much comfort they’d get from eachother.

I’m also worried that this time of year the weather is pretty unpredictable so I might not be able to make the drive back for their booster on time.

One option is to wait until spring when all 3 rabbits are (hopefully) bonded so they can travel together. The weather will also be stable so I don’t have to worry about missing the booster appointment. Of course, doing this means I’ll feel like I’m playing Russian Roulette with the virus until then.

Ugh I don’t know what do you all think?

[DanaNM]

I have to drive mine two hours to another state for theirs because it’s not available in my state (I live in New England so the states are small haha). I did this with my senior as well and they all did great. I brought a bag of favorite salad greens and made sure they ate some at the vet before driving home. I’ve found most buns don’t like the car, but on longer trips they fall asleep eventually. Depending on the cost for your vet to get the full vile driving to the other vet may be the best option (but also the vile may not be that expensive) and I think they would do fine. You might also see if your vet wants to reach out to other bunny patients, maybe some other owners would want to coordinate sharing a vile with you.  The concern about the weather is valid! I have to take mine his booster the day before thanksgiving which was not good planning on my part. 🙄

How many cases have their been in your area and when was the most recent case?

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[FantasyFanVII]

I know of a couple more bunny owners in town so my plan was to reach out to them if I get the vile. May as well use all of it right? Unfortunately I don’t know them well enough to ask to split the cost though.

I’m not sure exactly how many cases we’ve had/when the last one was. According to a distribution map I found its been “high” in my region this year, but my vet said she hasn’t heard of any cases so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[DanaNM]

I agree that it would be good to use the whole vile! Is there a rescue org in your region? They may be able to advertise and even coordinate a vaccine clinic if a vet was able to help administer the vaccine.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[FantasyFanVII]

We’ve got the local shelter but that’s it. I might give them a call if there’s going to be enough doses to be worth it.

[Bam]

Where I am, the RVHD vaccine first came in multiple dose vials -because they were made for the big European meat rabbit countries i e Spain and France. We dont discuss meat rabbits here, but in this case the economical importance of these unfortunate rabbits made it possible to save lots of pet rabbits. In my country rabbits are not traditionally eaten, but since were in the EU, the vaccines soon became available in all the member countries. (But we did have to whip up a bit of storm to get our vets to apply for a license 😃)

Anyway, with the aid of local Facebook rabbit groups, we managed to rally up enough pet rabbit owners to make the vaccination affordable. I remember it vividly, we all gathered in a car park and never took our buns inside the clinic. 2 (very kind and caring) vets went from car to car and gave the injections.

[DanaNM]

For reference, the vaccine available in the USA is made by Medgene. They make another vaccine for a disease in white tailed deer, and I found on their website that a “ten dose vial is $120”. I know it could be different for the RHDV2 vaccine, but I bet it’s in the same ballpark, so hopefully that gives you some idea. I really wish this vaccine would get full approval in the US because it would be easier and cheaper to get!

The European vaccines come in both single dose and larger dose vials, and I remember when we were coordinating the vaccine clinics we had to try to schedule people so we wouldn’t have a lot of doses left over.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[mia]

We are getting vaxed again soon. I’m sad to learn we have to use the two dose version now instead of the one dose we had before. My buns are always unhappy and sluggish after the vax.

[DanaNM]

Having to do the 2 dose series is annoying, but after their first 2 dose series they only need 1 dose annually, so that’s good.

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[mia]

Oh! Didn’t know; thanks for saying this! Need to cancel one of the bun’s second dose then.

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