We're aware that there have been some concerns raised about frequency of vaccination to protect against RVHD2 so wanted to give essential information to owners.
All vets that treat rabbits should stock
Nobivac Myxo/RHD which protects against Myxomatosis and the original strain of RVHD. It *does not* protect against RVHD2. It should be given once a year and it takes several days for the rabbit's body to mount a proper immune response following the vaccination. Allow at least 7, preferably 10 and
please don't go over a year between vaccinations.
To protect against RVHD2 there is a choice of vaccines. Although there are special import licences for vaccines from Spain (Cunipravac) and Germany (Cunivac RHD) they don't have full UK licences and there is the need for more than one initial vaccination and also for frequent boosters. They are also suspended in mineral oil which can cause sterile abscesses at the site of vaccination.
The vaccines that do have full UK licences are Filavac and Eravac.
Filavac should be given once a year, except in situations such as rescues, boarding and showing where a lot of rabbits from different backgrounds are being brought together into the same environment, when they should have 6 monthly vaccination. Originally there was advice that 6 monthly vaccinations should also be given where it is known the disease is in your area, but because we are certain it is now in every part of the UK this advice is redundant, and unless you are bringing in a rabbit from an unknown background, with unknown exposure, to be with your own vaccinated rabbits, there shouldn't be a need for more frequent than annual vaccination.
Eravac has a licence that states immunity os known to last for 9 months. Again in rescue, boarding and showing it would be sensible to increase frequency of vaccination, for the same reasons. Otherwise the advice is the same as for Filavac.
It takes a couple of weeks for these RVHD2 vaccines to trigger a full immune response so your rabbits are still vulnerable during this time.
Please do not go over the proper time for re-vaccinating.
To find vets that stock either Eravac or Filavac you can consult this map
http://rhd2map.buntools.org.uk/index.php?&p=vaccines The owner works hard to keep it up to date, but if you know of any omissions or errors, please use the contact tab on the site to let her know.
Further advice about viral diseases and vaccination is all covered on the RWAF website in the health section
https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/ Please also see Further Reading in this section.
Finally, while there is talk of it being okay to give Nobivac at the same time as one of the other vaccines, this is not recommended practice. These vaccines have not undergone clinical trials together and with such a sensitive immune system, overloading it in this way may mean that rabbits would not mount full immune responses to any of the illnesses. So, to give your rabbits the best chance of survival, leave at least 2 weeks between the two vaccinations.
