Rabbit vaccines - exactly a year apart?

[joey&boo]

I can't remember what mine were getting in 2020, suspect it might have still been the 2 doses though... I think it was about 6 weeks late, and the combined one last year.

I'm at a new vets this year, so I dunno if it's just how they do things. I'll ask the vet when I'm in and clarify what the timescales are, and if it really is that there's no grace period or if they're just being cautious because of lack of interest in follow up testing.

lets us know what the vet says. Thinking on I'm really surprised its a problem cos my vet is ace (Ruth) & when I was discussing not being able to get Boo over to Harrogate as Bob started job in New Year she advised not to let it go over a few weeks & go locally if need be but there was no mention of it being before or bang on a year. Maybe receptionist tasked with not letting owners go past their vaccination date & got bit carried away with themselves :lol:

yeah I think you're right it was 2 then, my trio were late Jan for RHVD & March-ish time for myxi

 

[Bunny Buddy]

I would have sworn blind that it was just the one vaccine in early 2020 but now I remember, I was trying to get everyone in for the Filavac before the lockdown. I think it was about summertime 2020 when the 3-1 vaccine was available.

 

[joey&boo]

I would have sworn blind that it was just the one vaccine in early 2020 but now I remember, I was trying to get everyone in for the Filavac before the lockdown. I think it was about summertime 2020 when the 3-1 vaccine was available.

yep thats right, its all coming back. When finally in at Crab Lane I was disappointed they were still on 2 vaccinations cos the combi was technically available

 

[Bunny Buddy]

yep thats right, its all coming back. When finally in at Crab Lane I was disappointed they were still on 2 vaccinations cos the combi was technically available

Oh, yes, I had forgotten that detail! I remember being told that they were using up the old myxo vaccine (which they had a ridiculous amount of!) and we would have to have the 2 vaccines until they had done. I remember being peed off about it at the time because of the extra cost and faff.

 

[KarenM]

There's a couple of pdf attachments on the link Jane posted & the second one lists various scenarios & vaccination protocol.

If I'm reading it right, the very last sentence of the answer for scenario 5 suggests that, if the RHD plus was last given more than 12 mths ago, all you need to do is give a single booster as normal to provide immunity again.

So, presumably, there would be a small risk by letting the booster date go over the 12 mths, but it doesn't mean you can't give it a little late.

Edited to remove the screenshot because it was pants lol. Click the link and then open the 'switching protocol knowledge check' pdf.

 

[MiniC]

lets us know what the vet says. Thinking on I'm really surprised its a problem cos my vet is ace (Ruth) & when I was discussing not being able to get Boo over to Harrogate as Bob started job in New Year she advised not to let it go over a few weeks & go locally if need be but there was no mention of it being before or bang on a year. Maybe receptionist tasked with not letting owners go past their vaccination date & got bit carried away with themselves :lol:

yeah I think you're right it was 2 then, my trio were late Jan for RHVD & March-ish time for myxi

Oh no, it wasn't even that she was saying not to go past the date, it's that she was saying they had to be exactly a year apart. Basically it had to be tomorrow, and if I couldn't get out of work, I needed to find someone who could take them in for me.

It was as if I'd just said the bunnies weren't eating, she wanted me to come in today and I was saying "I'll see how they fare overnight". It's why I had to ask here, because I just found it so odd that it was so pressing.

 

[MiniC]

There's a couple of pdf attachments on the link Jane posted & the second one lists various scenarios & vaccination protocol.

If I'm reading it right, the very last sentence of the answer for scenario 5 suggests that, if the RHD plus was last given more than 12 mths ago, all you need to do is give a single booster as normal to provide immunity again.

So, presumably, there would be a small risk by letting the booster date go over the 12 mths, but it doesn't mean you can't give it a little late.

Edited to remove the screenshot because it was pants lol. Click the link and then open the 'switching protocol knowledge check' pdf.

Thank-you! I missed that part. The bit I read said if they go over 12 months, it needs to be an inactive type of vaccine they get, before they can have this one again, so I'm not sure which one it is but I'll ask the vet so I know to avoid it happening again!

 

[KarenM]

Thank-you! I missed that part. The bit I read said if they go over 12 months, it needs to be an inactive type of vaccine they get, before they can have this one again, so I'm not sure which one it is but I'll ask the vet so I know to avoid it happening again!

Aaah, I hadn't seen the bit you mentioned. Definitely worth clarifying with the vet then as it sounds like info from msd is contradictory?

The way I read it is that, if the inactive vaccine has lapsed, they need to have that before the rhd plus. But, if the rhd plus lapses, it's OK to start up again with a single dose of plus.

Clear as mud lol!

Either way, the receptionist has definitely got it round her neck by saying it needs to be exactly 12 months to the day.

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[Graciee]

I'm really confused, was it bad mine were late?

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[Scrappy's Little Helper]

I'm really confused, was it bad mine were late?

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It is really confusing! I think it's the protocol for transitioning from the old vaccines to the rhd plus that's muddying the waters.

I'm interpreting the information in the same way as Karen. So if Atticus and Clementine had the rhd plus vaccine last year and were vaccinated with it again this year, then I think they should be ok if they've gone a little bit over. However there might be an issue if they previously had the separate rhd-myxi and rhd2 vaccines last year.

Hopefully someone will be able to get some definitive clarification on this!

 

[Graciee]

It is really confusing! I think it's the protocol for transitioning from the old vaccines to the rhd plus that's muddying the waters.

I'm interpreting the information in the same way as Karen. So if Atticus and Clementine had the rhd plus vaccine last year and were vaccinated with it again this year, then I think they should be ok if they've gone a little bit over. However there might be an issue if they previously had the separate rhd-myxi and rhd2 vaccines last year.

Hopefully someone will be able to get some definitive clarification on this!

Yea this was definitely not their first time having the triple one, they had it in 2021 as well. I hope I didn't mess it up

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[InspectorMorse]

From MSD

If the animal is lapsed over 12 months for the Nobivac Myxo-RHD PLUS vaccine, is there any expectation of protection beyond 12 months?

Nobivac Myxo-RHD PLUS is a single dose vaccine so a single dose should immunise at any stage, however immunity has only been assessed up to 12 months. The licensed minimum duration of immunity is 12 months.

 

[KarenM]

It is really confusing! I think it's the protocol for transitioning from the old vaccines to the rhd plus that's muddying the waters.

That's my thinking too. The protocol sounds like it's only relevant in the year that you switch from the old vaccines to the new one.

Once the new one has been given, immunity is only guaranteed for 12 months. But, like minic said, immunity doesn't suddenly switch off at midnight on that 12 mth deadline so there should be a little leeway. And they're saying it's a licenced MINIMUM duration of 12 mths.

The infographic Jane posted directly above also relates to the switching protocol when going from old vaccines over to the new one.

 

[KarenM]

Hopefully someone will be able to get some definitive clarification on this!

There's a contact email on the site Jane posted. I just emailed to ask and it says they aim to answer within 2 days so I will update when they reply.

ETA. The automated reply says they should reply within one working day, so fingers crossed. It also says it's for health professionals so I just hope they don't check lol....

 

[InspectorMorse]

Just spoken with a Veterinary Advisor whom has requested I don’t make name public

The advice is

‘’the Nobivac Myxo RHD Plus Vaccine is a single licence vaccine to provide immunity to Myxomatosis, RHD1+2. The duration of immunity has been tested to last for a minimum of 12 months. If a Rabbit has previously been vaccinated with the Myxo RHD Plus Vaccine and up to 16 months has elapsed then the advice is to just give a booster of the Nobivac Myxo RHD Plus. No additional RHD Vaccine is needed.

The vector interference issue will not be a problem in this scenario, unlike when giving the first ever vaccine of Nobivac Myxo RHD Plus.

If more than 16 months has elapsed from the last Myxo RHD Plus Vaccine then the Advisor was unable to give specific advice as to if a Filavac would be needed to insure the Myxo RHD Plus booster, when given, would provide full immunity. This decision would need to be made by the individual Veterinary Surgeon.’’

Hope the above makes sense

 

[KarenM]

That makes sense. And, apart from the 16 mth bit, that was how I interpreted the info on their website so it's reassuring that it doesn't conflict with that.

I wonder where the 16 month figure has come from, or is it just a best guess. I know with cats they recently said it was safe to go up to 3 months overdue before needing to restart the vaccinations again, but that was mainly because of the severe shortage of vaccines. Ordinarily, they would only recommend a week or two over.

I got an email back from msd but it was just a link to the datasheet. As much use as a chocolate teapot really, since it doesn't answer the actual query lol.

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[InspectorMorse]

That makes sense. And, apart from the 16 mth bit, that was how I interpreted the info on their website so it's reassuring that it doesn't conflict with that.

I wonder where the 16 month figure has come from, or is it just a best guess. I know with cats they recently said it was safe to go up to 3 months overdue before needing to restart the vaccinations again, but that was mainly because of the severe shortage of vaccines. Ordinarily, they would only recommend a week or two over.

I got an email back from msd but it was just a link to the datasheet. As much use as a chocolate teapot really, since it doesn't answer the actual query lol.

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At the moment RHD is especially rife and is taking the lives of both vaccinated and unvaccinated Rabbits. Personally and on the advice of my Rabbit Savvy Vet I vaccinate my Rabbits with Nobivac Myxo RHD plus every 11 months. This takes into account the fact that a full immune response is not established for 3 weeks.

If for any reason my Rabbits went more than 2-3 weeks overdue the booster I would vaccinate with Filavac, which covers RHD1+2 and immunity is established much quicker, ie 7 days. I would then vaccinate with Nobivac Myxo RHD Plus about 2 months after the Filavac to insure cover for Myxomatosis.

Having been involved in a case of 14 losses to RHD in one household, 9 vaccinated, 5 not I am extremely anxious about the Disease status atm. I had hoped that those in the position of being able to do so would look into whether the second mutation of RHD is now n the U.K., RHD2k. It was confirmed in France at the beginning of this year. To me it is pretty obvious it will be in the U.K. by now. The Nobivac Myxo RHD Plus does NOT cover RHD2K. In France the Filavac vaccine has been ‘tweaked’ to offer RHD2k protection.

Another reason I feel sure that RHD2k is in the U.K., apart from the fact that so many fully vaccinated Rabbits are still succumbing to the disease, the first cases of deaths in Vaccinated Rabbits apparently started in Rabbits imported via Calais.

The RWAF Veterinary Advisor has been informed about the situation. But AFAIK nothing further has been said. On the RWAF Website information about Vaccinations has been removed

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/?page_id=32

 

[MiniC]

Thanks for seeking the clarification Jane

I guess the receptionist was following the advice but being a bit too firm with it.

Nobivac Myxo-RHD PLUS is a single dose vaccine so a single dose should immunise at any stage, however immunity has only been assessed up to 12 months. The licensed minimum duration of immunity is 12 months.

I had read that to mean it couldn't be sooner than 12 months, but I guess it means it has been tracked up to 12 months, and they don't really know the effectiveness after that timeframe. I can see how someone could come to the conclusion it must be a minimum of 12 months apart but can't be over 12 months either.