Rabbit vaccines: RHDV2 and myxomatosis, with country-availability differences (Merck Veterinary Manual; PetMD)
Source: first-hand veterinary references (Merck Veterinary Manual; PetMD). These references are non-Open-Access, so the points below are paraphrased derived summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten) per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3; each point is independently checkable against the cited source.
Claims (derived summary — method: paraphrase)
- RHDV2 (rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus, a calicivirus) is a fatal disease of rabbits and was first detected in the United States in 2018; as of 2022 it had been documented in 23 states.
- In the USA there are no FDA-approved vaccines for RHDV2, but the USDA granted emergency use of the RHDV2 vaccine for pet rabbits in 2021, and the European vaccines can be used.
- Vaccines protective against RHDV1 and RHDV2 are available in several countries, and pet rabbits are typically vaccinated at 10 weeks of age with annual boosters recommended.
- Myxomatosis is a fatal disease of domestic rabbits caused by myxoma virus; an attenuated myxomatosis vaccine exists but is not available in the USA, where myxomatosis is largely restricted to coastal California and Oregon.
- In the United States a myxomatosis vaccine is unavailable and has not been approved by the USDA, whereas the myxomatosis vaccine is available in Europe and the UK.