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Learnt something new today about VHD...

rachylou

Warren Veteran
Following on from my most recent OCD issue- VHD.
I called and spoke to the nurse again today who spoke to our vet who said the following...

'VHD is spread via a rabbit coming in to contact with an infected rabbits poos, a cut, urine etc.
He said that it is not actually air bourne but vecta bourne which would mean that they would actually need to ingest it or come in to contact with infected blood etc. Not by touching an inanamet object.
He also said that in the 6 years he has been at that particular practice he has never seen a rabbit with VHD.'
 
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Following on from my most recent OCD issue- VHD.
I called and spoke to the nurse again today who spoke to our vet who said the following...

'VHD is spread via a rabbit coming in to contact with an infected rabbits poos, a cut, urine etc.
He said that it is not actually air bourne but vecta bourne which would mean that they would actually need to ingest it or come in to contact with infected blood etc. Not by touching an inanamet object.
He also said that in the 6 years he has been at that particular practice he has never seen a rabbit with VHD.'

Barely any vets have, because the first signs of VHD is that the rabbit is dead unfortunately.

But yes, VHD isn't air borne :)

They're all safe rachy, promise :)
 
Following on from my most recent OCD issue- VHD.
I called and spoke to the nurse again today who spoke to our vet who said the following...

'VHD is spread via a rabbit coming in to contact with an infected rabbits poos, a cut, urine etc.
He said that it is not actually air bourne but vecta bourne which would mean that they would actually need to ingest it or come in to contact with infected blood etc. Not by touching an inanamet object.
He also said that in the 6 years he has been at that particular practice he has never seen a rabbit with VHD.'

It's also a notifiable illness so vets are obliged on hearing of any outbreaks in any species to advise all clients, media, Defra etc :wave:
 
It's also a notifiable illness so vets are obliged on hearing of any outbreaks in any species to advise all clients, media, Defra etc :wave:

No it's not!
It is good practice to publicise an outbreak but there is no legal obligation whatsoever.
 
I just called back and I THINK I have annoyed them a bit now, I didnt speak to the nice nurse but another one and when I asked her exactly how it is transmitted she said 'I know ... spoke to you and told you what the vet said so if you still need to talk to someone about this I can make you an appointment' Basically 'Stop calling us!' :lol: :oops:
I did ask her if there was an outbreak in the area would they call to notify rabbit owners and she said 'Of cause, yes!'

And she did say that in her 13 years of being a vet nurse she has never heard of a vaccinated rabbit getting VHD.
 
I just called back and I THINK I have annoyed them a bit now, I didnt speak to the nice nurse but another one and when I asked her exactly how it is transmitted she said 'I know ... spoke to you and told you what the vet said so if you still need to talk to someone about this I can make you an appointment' Basically 'Stop calling us!' :lol: :oops:
I did ask her if there was an outbreak in the area would they call to notify rabbit owners and she said 'Of cause, yes!'

And she did say that in her 13 years of being a vet nurse she has never heard of a vaccinated rabbit getting VHD.

:lol: I'm worried now ! I thought it was 'notifiable' maybe it's just a 'code of practice' that it does get reported but I'd prefer that to be law I think.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2045

It's amazing that 'show' rabbits don't have to produce vaccination certificates given they are transported all around the country, even more bizarre that potentially unvaccinated rabbits could come in from abroad could they??
 
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:lol: I'm worried now ! I thought it was 'notifiable' maybe it's just a 'code of practice' that it does get reported but I'd prefer that to be law I think.

You could call your vets and ask them if that is their practice or not?
 
You could call your vets and ask them if that is their practice or not?

It is, that's where I got the impression it was notifiable, they obviously meant they would notify the relevant authorities, bit pointless if thats not going to be shared with anyone else though :?
 
It was notifiable when it first appeared but not since 1996.

Your rabbits are protected cos you had them vaccinated.. so transmission methods don't really matter cos their antibodies will stomp on any virus that gets near :D
 
It was notifiable when it first appeared but not since 1996.

Your rabbits are protected cos you had them vaccinated.. so transmission methods don't really matter cos their antibodies will stomp on any virus that gets near :D

Thankyou Tamsin.
I am really toying as to whether or not I need to wash the duvet cover because my CPN came over today and she has a bunny too and when she came in she brushed up against my duvet cover... :roll:
 
It was notifiable when it first appeared but not since 1996.

Your rabbits are protected cos you had them vaccinated.. so transmission methods don't really matter cos their antibodies will stomp on any virus that gets near :D

I'm late with the VHD :oops: and having an internal struggle with the ethics of it coming from other rabbits in labs and the type I want adminstered as the side effects with Cylap are horrible and thats the one my vet administers so I've let it slide. I'm taking all precautions possible to minimise any infection and have been a bit lax about it because I thought it was notifiable.:oops:
 
I was told it was a 'notifiable' - why isn't it then do you know?

Because notifiable diseases are those which are unusual/rapidly detrimental in the UK and threaten the animal industries or human health. VHD is well established in the UK and DEFRA cannot be expected to panic and prevent alll animal movements and impose area quarantines every time a case is reported as this wouldn't be of any benefit anyway. Most VHD cases never make it to a vet so vets can't keep true records anyway.
 
Because notifiable diseases are those which are unusual/rapidly detrimental in the UK and threaten the animal industries or human health. VHD is well established in the UK and DEFRA cannot be expected to panic and prevent alll animal movements and impose area quarantines every time a case is reported as this wouldn't be of any benefit anyway. Most VHD cases never make it to a vet so vets can't keep true records anyway.


That's why so many Vets will say 'In all my X years in practice I have never seen a case of VHD'. Most cases are whereby the Rabbit is found dead by the owner and the owner does not opt for a PM.
 
Because notifiable diseases are those which are unusual/rapidly detrimental in the UK and threaten the animal industries or human health. VHD is well established in the UK and DEFRA cannot be expected to panic and prevent alll animal movements and impose area quarantines every time a case is reported as this wouldn't be of any benefit anyway. Most VHD cases never make it to a vet so vets can't keep true records anyway.

Right OK thanks. I was just reading this http://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D8201.PDF

calicivirus. A family of very small viruses, different species of which cause diseases in several animal species. One species causes haemorrhagic diseases in rabbits (called rabbit calicivirus disease or rabbit haemorrhagic disease). This disease rapidly kills mature but not young rabbits, but affects no other animal species.

Caliciviral infections in humans, among the most common causes of viral-induced vomiting and diarrhea, are caused by the Norwalk group of small round structured viruses, the Sapporo caliciviruses, and the hepatitis E agent. Human caliciviruses have been resistant to in vitro cultivation, and direct study of their origins and reservoirs outside infected humans or water and foods (such as shellfish contaminated with human sewage) has been difficult. Modes of transmission, other than direct fecal-oral routes, are not well understood. In contrast, animal viruses found in ocean reservoirs, which make up a second calicivirus group, can be cultivated in vitro. These viruses can emerge and infect terrestrial hosts, including humans. This article reviews the history of animal caliciviruses, their eventual recognition as zoonotic agents, and their potential usefulness as a predictive model for noncultivatable human and other animal caliciviruses (e.g., those seen in association with rabbit hemorrhagic disease).

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol4no1/smith.htm - :shock:

Now I've got total brain overload.:lol:
 
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