Rabbit hemorrhagic disease: symptoms, treatment and prevention

A deadly viral disease appears suddenly, spreads rapidly, can lead to the death of the entire livestock. With hemorrhagic disease of rabbits, also called hemorrhagic pneumonia and hepatitis with necrosis, severe structural changes in the internal organs occur, as a result, the vital activity of the organism becomes impossible. The only way to prevent infection is vaccination.

Description and history of VGBK

For the first time viral hemorrhagic disease of rabbits appeared in one of the Chinese provinces at the beginning of the 20th century, although the pathogen was discovered in the 19th century by the French microbiologist Louis Pasteur.The scientist identified the virus in poultry, but experimentally learned that the infection affects different species of animals.

In 1984, the infection moved from China to the Far Eastern state farm, causing the death of the entire rabbit population. Viral distemper began to spread rapidly throughout Russia and Europe, by 1986 it had captured most of European rabbit farms.

Especially strong disease flared up in Italy after the import of Chinese infected rabbit meat.

The causative agent containing the RNA gene affects the entire body of the animal, is extremely tenacious, it is not afraid of either high temperature or frost, or even household chemicals containing chlorine and ethers. Freezes at -50°C but comes to life when thawed. In the body of an animal, it remains viable for about 100 days. Capable of causing an epidemic all year round.

For the human body, a viral infection is not dangerous. Once in the rabbit's body, she:

• begins to multiply actively;
• with blood through the vessels is transferred to the lymph nodes;
• releasing toxic waste products;
• this leads to the destruction of cellular structures and vascular walls;
• result - hemorrhagic disease.

There are two forms of hemorrhagic disease:

1. Spicy. Has severe symptoms. Most often occurs after stressful exposure, relocation or transportation, when sick rabbits are together with he althy ones. An infected individual dies within 2-3 days.
2. Chronic. May be asymptomatic. Usually associated with poor quality animal care. A sick individual survives if immunity has time to form. But the surviving rabbit remains the carrier of the virus forever.

Routes of infection

The way of transmission of a deadly hemorrhagic infection is predominantly airborne. But a rabbit can also become infected by contact with a sick individual, its feces, saliva, or contaminated objects. The worker himself can spread the infection by transferring it on the skin of the hands and clothes, touching the cages, bedding, feeder, inventory, touching the skins and meat of infected animals.

Hemorrhagic virus remains viable on wooden cages for 2 months, on metal tools, in food, water and feces - one month, in the natural environment - up to 3 months.

Viral infection can be found in dry and fresh herbal food collected in a place where sick rodents can live, or where carcasses of rabbits who died from hemorrhagic disease were buried.

Sources of the virus can be waste heaps, sewage and premises where rabbit meat and skins are processed, if sanitary safety standards are not observed, disinfection is not carried out.Hemorrhagic can even spread from veterinary institutions if the rules of epidemiological prevention are violated there. That is, in many cases, people themselves are to blame for the spread of the disease.

Symptoms of the disease

The incubation period of hemorrhagic disease lasts 2-3 days. The infected animal looks he althy and eats well. The development of hemorrhagic disease is rapid, the symptoms appear abruptly and too late, when the pet is on the verge between life and death. In most cases, only a few hours pass between the first symptoms and the death of the rabbit.

Manifestation of an acute form of hemorrhagic disease:

• fever, body temperature 40-42°C (normal 38-39°C);
• weakness, lethargy;
• lack of appetite;
• heavy breathing, shortness of breath;
• diarrhea with copious liquid stools.

Sometimes the acute form of the disease proceeds as hyperacute. This means the incubation period is only a few hours. There are no symptoms, they just do not have time to appear. A seemingly he althy rabbit suddenly begins to convulse, gasp for air, then drop dead.

The only symptom that indicates an early death in a hyperacute form of the disease is lack of appetite. A he althy rabbit chews food all the time. If he stopped eating, then he began to bleed in the throat and spleen, the tissues of the lungs, heart, blood vessels, liver and kidneys are destroyed, which means that death convulsions will soon begin. Often, hemorrhagic disease occurs in conjunction with myxomatosis, another viral disease. This is due to the weakening of the body's immune defenses.

Signs of chronic hemorrhagic disease are somewhat different:

• rhinitis;
• conjunctivitis with hemorrhage in the mucous membranes of the eyeballs;
• blanching and bluish color of the mucous membranes, bruising under the skin;
• disruption of the digestive tract;
• anal bleeding;
• vomiting blood, hemorrhage in the gums;
• pneumonia with normal and purulent exudation.

Disease diagnosis

The diagnosis is made by a pathologist after an autopsy. If a he althy-looking rabbit suddenly died, then it should be brought to the veterinary laboratory. The veterinarian must make sure that the animal did not die due to pathologies similar in symptoms: intoxication, salmonellosis, pasteurellosis, hyperthermia.

At autopsy, the pathologist reveals the following signs of hemorrhagic disease:

• enlarged, blood-filled liver;
• 2-3 size swollen spleen, black with blood;
• inflamed digestive tract;
• clotted blood vessels;
• swollen and darkened lungs, beaten with blood points;
• bloodshot eyeballs;
• blood-filled nasopharynx;
• bleeding mouth sores;
• destroyed tissue of the lymph nodes.

Treatment of HBV in rabbits

There is no cure for viral hemorrhagic pathology. It is impossible to save a sick rabbit. But it is possible to prevent infection of the livestock by vaccinating in a timely manner. Although the effectiveness of vaccines cannot be called 100%. Rabbits are vaccinated with either an associated (two-component) or one-component vaccine. The first includes strains of VGBK and myxomatosis, the second - only the strain of VGBK.

Common drugs:

• Rabbiwak V (Russia);
• Cunipravac RHD (Spain);
• Dervaksimikso (France);
• "Tissue inactivated aluminum hydroxide vaccine" (Russia).

Experienced farmers advise using two-component vaccines. The first injection is given to a rabbit that has reached 1.5 months of age. The next procedure is carried out 3 months after the first. The next vaccinations are supposed to be done every 6 months.

A farmer can vaccinate his pets himself, or he can go to a veterinarian. The vaccine is injected into the thigh muscle. Dose - 0.5 cm³. Before the procedure, the needles are sterilized, the skin of the thigh of the rabbit is disinfected with alcohol.

Disease prevention

Viral hemorrhagic pathology has no cure, but it can be prevented if preventive measures are followed:

• vaccinate rabbits in time;
• quarantine purchased and vaccinated animals;
• keep rabbits in accordance with sanitary and hygienic standards;
• clean and disinfect rabbit cages regularly.

Actions in the event of an epizootic:

When hemorrhagic disease has already begun, immediately do the following:

1. He althy animals are moved to a safe place, vaccinated.
2. Cages and inventory are disinfected from a spray device, thoroughly cleaned with a hot solution of caustic soda. What cannot be cleaned is disposed of. Formalin, carbolic acid, phenol, slaked lime, Ecocid, Glutex, Virocid are used as disinfectants.
3. Feeders and drinkers are immersed for 3 hours in a solution of formaldehyde or calcium hypochlorite.
4. Cell walls, if possible, are treated with a blowtorch.
5. Carcasses of dead animals, bedding, pieces of food, feces, work clothes, plastic equipment are burned in a pit.
6. The place where the sick rabbits were, the waste pit and the dunghill are sprinkled with lime powder.
7. Destroy mice, rats, insects that live near the rabbitry, capable of carrying a hemorrhagic infection.
8. Finally, the rabbitry and cages are thoroughly washed with a soda solution. Disinfecting the car in which the animals were transported.

After 2 weeks, it is desirable to repeat the described activities. It is strictly forbidden to eat the meat of sick rabbits, use the skins. New animals can be brought to the farm two weeks after disinfection. To prevent hemorrhagic disease from recurring, pets should be vaccinated in a timely manner, take good care of them, and maintain cleanliness and order in the rabbitry.

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