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Can vaccinated rabbits still get VHD?

rachylou

Warren Veteran
I am asking because when we take in Cookie she will not have been vaccinated for VHD due to having to have unexpected surgery so we will have her here for 2 weeks unvaccinated against it.
Jims is vaccinated, is there any chance she could pass anything on to my boy?
 
I pressume so but if unfortunatly they did so, I'm guessing that it would be a more milder form.

I'm sure someone with a definate answer/more knowledge will be able to help though!
 
Phew!! I know vaccinated buns can catch myxi but have far more chance of surviving but did not know about VHD.
 
i think myxi isnt actually the myxi virus and thats why they can still catch a milder form. i think VHD they use the actual virus in the vaccine
 
i think myxi isnt actually the myxi virus and thats why they can still catch a milder form. i think VHD they use the actual virus in the vaccine

Why dont they use the virus for the Myxi jab then? That seems a bit strange?
I am dreading having to vaccinate Cookie against the VHD as it can make them really ill, Jims has had bad reactions to most of his jabs. :cry:
 
Why dont they use the virus for the Myxi jab then? That seems a bit strange?
I am dreading having to vaccinate Cookie against the VHD as it can make them really ill, Jims has had bad reactions to most of his jabs. :cry:

im not actually sure.. off to read up :lol::lol:
 
found this

Vaccination
There is one licensed rabbit vaccine to immunise against myxomatosis available in the UK. It is a live vaccine containing the Shope fibroma virus, which is closely related to myxomatosis but does not cause disease in the European domestic rabbit. The only clinical sign that may occasionally be seen is a slight temporary lump, or nodule, at the vaccination site. The technique of using a different virus in order to protect an individual against a serious disease is an old and well-proven technique, first used by Edward Jenner when he used the live cowpox virus to vaccinate people against smallpox.

Strains of myxomatosis and vaccine development

Although myxomatosis is typically fatal in rabbits without immunity, there are many different strains and some are more virulent than others. As evolution has progressed and the virus adapts accordingly, the modern myxoma virus may not kill rabbits quite as readily or rapidly as older strains. Use of the Shope fibroma virus strain is well proven in terms of safety and achieves good levels of efficacy. Inactivated (killed) myxomatosis vaccines are generally ineffective. Other approaches that have been taken with mixed results have included using a weakened strain of the myxoma virus as a vaccine.

looks like it dies so cant be used in a vaccine <<< how technical am i :lol::lol::lol:

eta
this one explains it better actually

What about myxomatosis vaccination?

Domestic rabbits do not have any genetically based immunity against myxomatosis. If an unvaccinated pet rabbit catches myxomatosis, it will almost certainly die. Vaccination is a vital part of a package of measures you can take to protect your rabbit and the RWA urges all rabbit owners to make sure their rabbit is vaccinated with a licensed veterinary product and boosters are kept up to date.

The myxomatosis vaccine in Britain (Nobi-vac Myxo) is made from a harmless virus called Shope Fibroma. Antibodies made in response to Shope Fibroma Virus also protect against myxomatosis - this is called cross immunity. Different vaccines (including live attenuated myxomatosis virus) are used elsewhere in Europe, but tend to have more side effects and there are concerns that they are not safe enough for use in pet rabbits.
 
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That was interesting! I can not find anything to say whether vaccinated buns can get vhd?

thats probably because they dont if they are vaccinated ;)

holly was overdue on her VHD and she was fine and didnt pass anything nasty on to Alvin :wave::wave::wave:
 
thats probably because they dont if they are vaccinated ;)

holly was overdue on her VHD and she was fine and didnt pass anything nasty on to Alvin :wave::wave::wave:

I hope so!!

Cookie is due to have her op this Thursday so I have to wait at least 2 weeks before I take her to have her jab, so we will probably book her in the week beginning 26th July. Then the following week we are going to start worming her, is it best to do a full course as she has never been wormed to our knoladge or would the 9 day course be sufficient?
 
I don't think any vaccination is 100% effective, but I have certainly never heard of a vaccinated rabbits catching VHD so it is highly unlikey :)
 
I hope so!!

Cookie is due to have her op this Thursday so I have to wait at least 2 weeks before I take her to have her jab, so we will probably book her in the week beginning 26th July. Then the following week we are going to start worming her, is it best to do a full course as she has never been wormed to our knoladge or would the 9 day course be sufficient?

if your doing it as a preventative against EC i would do them both for 4 weeks, this is what i was advised to do with holly... 9 days does nothing apparently, most people on here do a 6 week course, but my vet said 4 so im happy to stick with that :D

i was also advised not to get the VHD while panacuring because how nasty the vaccine can be so i gave a break of about 2 weeks after panacuring and getting the jab done
 
I don't think any vaccination is 100% effective, but I have certainly never heard of a vaccinated rabbits catching VHD so it is highly unlikey :)

THis is how I understand it as well.
I had a very sick (unvaccinated) rabbit who had symptoms that could suggest VHD (turned out to be internal bleeding for another reason), but when I asked the rabbit savvy vet treating her, she said not to worry 'at all' about my vaccinated bunnies as if the sick one did have VHD that there was no risk to my own bunnies.
 
if your doing it as a preventative against EC i would do them both for 4 weeks, this is what i was advised to do with holly... 9 days does nothing apparently, most people on here do a 6 week course, but my vet said 4 so im happy to stick with that :D

i was also advised not to get the VHD while panacuring because how nasty the vaccine can be so i gave a break of about 2 weeks after panacuring and getting the jab done

Hmmm ok well we have never done Jims with a 4 week course as our vet said that to prevent EC it is a 9 day course?!

Maybe it would be best to do a 9 day course a week after her VHD as we have just finished worming Jims so can not do any more for him right now, then do a full 4 week course for them both next time?
 
Hmmm ok well we have never done Jims with a 4 week course as our vet said that to prevent EC it is a 9 day course?!

Maybe it would be best to do a 9 day course a week after her VHD as we have just finished worming Jims so can not do any more for him right now, then do a full 4 week course for them both next time?

There has been a recent change in thinking as to the use of Panacur and it's no long thought to be of any use as a preventative wormer only to be used whilst the EC is active. The parasite becomes active at times of 'stress' from injury, illness, incident - such as bonding possibly of course, as the immune system is depressed.

Richard Saunders (of Great Western Referrals) spoke about this at conference last year. If a rabbit needs to be wormed to treat then it's suggested that the 4 week course is necessary, if not longer. 9 day treatments are held by many (including some vets) to be useless and regular worming to be ineffective as it only works if the parasite is active at the time.

Not sure I'd bother to worm Rachel on top of everything else that you have to do, unless you feel that one of the buns is having an episode in which case I would personally do both for 4 weeks each.

Others may disagree but this is now fairly common practice.
 
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Thankyou Helen, so you dont think it is nessersary to worm Cookie before bonding?
We can not do any more for Jims until a few months have passed now because we have just done the 9 day course?
 
Thankyou Helen, so you dont think it is nessersary to worm Cookie before bonding?
We can not do any more for Jims until a few months have passed now because we have just done the 9 day course?

I have never wormed a rabbit before bonding before and have had no feedback from new owners, or the existing owners, or personally experienced EC as a result of bonding in any of my own rabbits so I don't think it's necessary unless you think she is showing any symptoms.

I am not sure if it would be worthwhile trying to panacur her during the bonding as this could be when she becomes stressed and therefore have her immunity lowered, but it may not hurt if you want to do this. Not sure if it would add to the stress of the encounter or if worming when the rabbit isn't active has any detremental effects. Not sure if there has been any research on this. I wonder if it's like taking antibiotics where the more you take the more your own system stops seeing any benefit when it is required.
 
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