Rabbit Owners In Scotland Warned About Killer Disease

Rabbit owners in Flintshire are being warned to be on there guard against an outbreak of a virus that is fatal to rabbits. Vets are reporting record numbers of animals being brought in with the deadly myxomatosis virus.

Vets in Shotton, have recorded 11 cases in the past two weeks, including five cases in just one day. Normally it would be uncommon to see more than a dozen cases within a six months. In the UK cases are usually seen from August through to February, so a dozens cases is what they would expect to see throughout the entire year.

The rabbit disease, which can cause blindness, is often spread by biting fleas and mosquitoes, so a pet rabbit does not have to come into contact with a wild infected rabbit in order to transmit the disease, thus enabling an easy transfer of the virus from wild to domestic rabbits.

It cannot be easily treated and usually is fatal to wild rabbits; a vet commented “I have only ever had one rabbit survive in the last 10 to 15 years. If an animal has got it then we would advise euthanasia.” The disease usually causes blindness and then the rabbit in the wild will often either be eaten by predators or will starve to death, the blindness is also very distressing for the rabbits.”

The warm September in Scotland is the key. The spread of the disease is linked to an increase in the mosquito population as a result of an extended warm and dry period of weather. No other known factors are deemed to be involved at this time.

Symptoms of Myxomatosis include swellings of the rabbits face, especially eye eyelids, nose and inner ear. Also the rabbits genitals may swell and the animal may be seen become lethargic and loose their appetite.

An effective vaccine is available against the disease and owners could move a rabbit hutch indoors and use a special flea treatment to reduce the chances of infection. Owners who are concerned are advised to telephone their nearest vet. To the best medical advice myxomatosis can not be caught by humans and people should not worry.

Jon Hunter is an SEO consultant based in cheshire who runs a number of sites including one about rabbit runs