Compass
Warren Scout
I just wanted to raise awareness of suspected RHD2 virus in the East Devon area. We had 4 rabbits and with in the space of two days we have lost two and another is at the vets unwell.
One (Bagel) had chronic kidney failure and was palliative but doing well, he became unwell with weight loss ++ and we initially thought this was organ failure associated with his condition. At the same time his partner (Brie) stopped eating and we initially thought she was mimicking him (as she has done this before). We took him to the vet and he went under light GA for only slightly sharp tooth which the vet suspected was potentially not the main cause. After bringing him back home we found one of our outdoor pair had died with no symptoms whatsoever, he was 2 and apart from Megacolon, which was managed well he was in great health, eating and hopping around that day. Bagel became very unwell today and sadly we had to put him down whilst also having to hand Brie over to the vet for continued deterioration. She is currently having fluid therapy and is staying in over night.
We had deliberated on whether to vaccinate against RHD2, thinking the myxomatosis/RHD1 could be enough. We may be wrong and this might not be RHD2 but is either exceptional coincidence or the deadly virus. We have learnt the hard way, whether it is or isn’t we will now ensure we vaccinate against this new virus also. I know there is debate on its efficacy but least if it did happen again we could say we did everything we could.
One (Bagel) had chronic kidney failure and was palliative but doing well, he became unwell with weight loss ++ and we initially thought this was organ failure associated with his condition. At the same time his partner (Brie) stopped eating and we initially thought she was mimicking him (as she has done this before). We took him to the vet and he went under light GA for only slightly sharp tooth which the vet suspected was potentially not the main cause. After bringing him back home we found one of our outdoor pair had died with no symptoms whatsoever, he was 2 and apart from Megacolon, which was managed well he was in great health, eating and hopping around that day. Bagel became very unwell today and sadly we had to put him down whilst also having to hand Brie over to the vet for continued deterioration. She is currently having fluid therapy and is staying in over night.
We had deliberated on whether to vaccinate against RHD2, thinking the myxomatosis/RHD1 could be enough. We may be wrong and this might not be RHD2 but is either exceptional coincidence or the deadly virus. We have learnt the hard way, whether it is or isn’t we will now ensure we vaccinate against this new virus also. I know there is debate on its efficacy but least if it did happen again we could say we did everything we could.
Is your Vet going to arrange PMs/PCR testing to confirm a diagnosis ?
