Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
I have just spoken with one of the vets at Fort Dodge,(manufacturers of Cylap, the VHD vaccine). He said that if a rabbit under 12 weeks is vaccinated because of an outbreak of disease then the vaccination must be repeated 3 MONTHS later. He said that a full dose can be given to 'under age buns', but that the repeat vaccination must take place to ensure adequate protection. After this the vaccinations take place yearly as usual. He was not certain that an adequate immune response would be acheived by giving an 'under age bun' the first VHD vaccination in two halves. And of course, very rarely, some bunnies of any age just do not produce an immune response from the vaccination for 'reasons unknown'. The vet said that it is 'highly unlikely' that a bunny infected with VHD would remain 'well' for a couple of months as a result of vaccination, then succumb to the disease. He said the most likely scenario is that the bunny was 'challenged' by VHD again from the environment and because the initial vaccination had not produced an immune response, and the second vaccination (ie 3 months after first one) had not yet been given the poor bunny would fall victim to VHD. The vet also said that any chronic case of VHD, (ie where sudden death does NOT occur) ALWAYS results in an obviously sick rabbit. I really do not know if any of this info is of any help. I am sure that it will not change how Phill must still be feeling after the nightmare she has endured. But thought I would pass the info on anyway just in case. To be honest my brain felt scrambled after trying to understand it all. JCO