Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (RVHD) is a highly contagious and usually fatal disease which affects rabbits. The disease is also known as Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD) and Rabbit Calicivirus (RCV). Vaccination is the only way to truly protect your rabbits against this disease.
Signs of RVHD
Both strains of the virus cause similar signs:
Causes of RVHD
There are now two strains of RVHD in the UK: RVHD1 and RVHD2. RVHD2 has become present in the UK more recently and causes a potentially more dangerous form of the disease.
RVHD is spread between rabbits by direct contact and through all bodily fluids (blood, urine, faeces, saliva). The virus is very stable in the environment; it can survive for more than 100 days at room temperature and longer if it is cold. The virus particles are also resistant to freezing.
What can you do to help your rabbits?
Treatment of RVHD
Sadly there is no treatment for RVHD1 or RVHD2. Unfortunately, 90-100% of rabbits who contract this disease will not survive. Due to the severe suffering that this disease causes, your vet will usually recommend euthanasia on welfare grounds.
Occasionally, a very small number of rabbits survive, although we do not know why this is. It is most likely to be due to differences in their immune response to the virus. In these cases, supportive care, pain relief, fluid therapy and antibiotics against secondary infections, may help to combat the disease. In a rabbit that has been extraordinarily lucky to survive the infection, they must be quarantined to protect other rabbits. Quarantine must last for a minimum of six weeks, and possibly longer, as they continue to shred the virus into the environment.
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