New virus

skipidragon · Dec 11, 2023

Just saw a news announcement about all the rabbits dying at a local petting zoo. The article said it was transmitted by mosquitoes. There are no vaccines. It's called mysomatosis. Does anybody know anything about this and does this mean she can't go out anymore?

Catlyn · Dec 11, 2023

Myxomatosis is by no means a new virus. It's been around for a good while. There are most definetly vaccines out there. My buns get vaccinated twice a year even when there's no active virus nearby. A lot of rabbits get vaccinated for it and are doing just fine.
You can look up myxomatosis on this site and find a lot of preexisting threads with sources linked to them.
Still, wouldn't want to take an unvaccinated pet rabbit outdoors when there's a confirmed virus nearby.

skipidragon · Dec 11, 2023

Catlyn said:
Myxomatosis is by no means a new virus. It's been around for a good while. There are most definetly vaccines out there. My buns get vaccinated twice a year even when there's no active virus nearby. A lot of rabbits get vaccinated for it and are doing just fine.
You can look up myxomatosis on this site and find a lot of preexisting threads with sources linked to them.
Still, wouldn't want to take an unvaccinated pet rabbit outdoors when there's a confirmed virus nearby.

Thank you. I'll contact my vet to get a shot for her. The funny thing is I just got the last shot paid for.

skipidragon · Dec 11, 2023

Well this doesn't look good. There is a vaccine in Europe. There is no vaccine in the United States. The web site suggests using mosquitoe netting and flea powder. It also stated that rabbits are dying in WA, OR, and CA. The location listed in the article was in the bay area of CA. Or about 30 minutes from me. Great just one more thing to try to not think about.

Mileybun · Dec 11, 2023

Myxomatosis has been around for a long time. It's a horrible disease

In the UK rabbits should be vaccinated yearly against it. I can't believe you can't get the vaccine in the US!

If the virus is so close to you I absolutely wouldn't be letting unvaccinated buns outside, it's just not worth it and the survival rate is so low.

Best to keep them indoors from now on, or at least until they can be vaccinated. I don't think I would trust mosquito netting or flea powder to prevent it.

It can also be passed on by infected wild rabbits, and in contaminated equipment.

JBun · Dec 11, 2023

Mxyo in the US, in the past at least, is fairly unusual. The few cases of it happening is mostly isolated to the west coast at certain times of the year.

Because it's a live vaccine, this is likely why it's never been approved for use here. So about all that can be done is preventative measures, like the bug screening you mentioned. The flea powder, just make sure whatever you use and do is safe for your rabbit and to have in your rabbits environment.

Also, you may want to talk to your vet about doing a monthly Revolution(selamectin) preventative, as it's something else that's suggested to help prevent bites from some of the bugs that can transmit this.

https://rabbit.org/2022/07/myxo/