Many owners of private households and villagers are engaged in rabbit breeding. This is, in most cases, profitable and not too complicated. However, profit from a farm of this specialization is possible only if the animals are properly looked after. First of all, when keeping rabbits , maximum attention should be paid to preventing the spread of various infections. Otherwise, you can quickly lose all livestock.
One of the most formidable diseases of these animals is HBVC. Treatment of hemorrhagic rabbit disease is not carried out. There are practically no methods to save animals in case of infection. Lunge during spread in the herd of HBVC is usually 90-100%.
Pathogen
Causes HBVC is a special RNA-containing calcivirus with extremely high virulence. Activity, and it is very high, even at a temperature of 40-50 degrees, it can save more than five years. Fortunately, only rabbits are susceptible to this calcivirus. Other agricultural and domestic animals, as well as humans, cannot become infected with an infection such as rabbit hemorrhagic disease.
The susceptibility of animals to VGBK is very high. Rabbits of any gender, all ages and breeds can be affected by this disease. The morbidity statistics also do not particularly depend on the time of year. However, most often HBVC, rabbits still get sick in the fall or winter.
Animals older than 3 months weighing more than 3 kg are most sensitive to viral hemorrhagic disease. Why the body of young rabbits is able to resist the disease better than adults, for scientists is still a mystery. Very often, for unknown reasons, the disease also affects pregnant and lactating females.
A bit of history
For the first time, rabbit viral hemorrhagic disease was recorded in China, in the Jiang Zu area. Many farmers in this province lost their entire stocks of animals in just a day. In Europe, calcivirus first appeared in 1986. This time, Italian farmers were affected. The death of animals began immediately after rabbit meat from China was imported into the country. For two years (1986-1988), VGBK covered almost the entire territory of Italy. Up to 600 dysfunctional farms were recorded in the country. Many rabbit breeders simply went bankrupt. At the same time, Italian veterinarians and scientists were powerless to change anything. They could not even identify the virus, calling HBV disease X.
In Russia, infection of rabbits with calcivirus was first recorded in the Jewish Autonomous Region. On the very border with China, on the Far East state farm, almost all the livestock were killed. Unfortunately, since, like in Italy, the disease was not identified, no measures were taken to prevent its spread. The remaining rabbits were slaughtered at a meat factory, and the skins were sent to a felt factory. As a result, after some time, the disease manifested itself in the Moscow region. Cases of infection were recorded in other areas of the country.
To date, VGBK is common in most regions of Europe, in South-West Asia, on the American continent and in Africa. Work on the systematization of data on this disease is carried out by the International Epizootic Bureau.
How infection can occur
The danger of rabbit viral hemorrhagic disease for business is not only due to the lack of treatment methods and one hundred percent mortality, but also because of the lightning spread. This infection can be transmitted in many ways. Very often the culprit in the infection of animals becomes, for example, farm personnel. The virus is easily tolerated both on shoes and on clothing. In addition, the sources of infection can be:
- litter;
- manure;
- stern;
- water;
- particles of the skin of sick animals.
Calcivirus is transmitted and simply by airborne droplets. In the skins of sick animals, it can last up to three months.
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease: symptoms of infection
There are only two main forms of HBVC: fulminant and acute. In the first case, only a few hours pass from the moment of infection of the animal until its death. In the evening, the owners can feed still healthy animals, and in the morning find them dead. In this case, the disease does not manifest itself clinically. Animals just die.
The acute form of HBVD develops as fast as, for example, myxomatosis. In this case, the viral hemorrhagic disease of rabbits can last several days. In this case, the incubation period is 2-4 days. Then, rabbits begin to show signs of depression, lack of appetite, and nervous system disorders. In animals, cramps of the extremities, tipping of the head can be observed. In this case, rabbits suffer, moan or squeak.
At the final stage of the disease, a yellowish-red liquid begins to be released from the nasal openings of the animals. From the moment the first signs of the disease appear until the animals die in the acute form of HBV, no more than 1-2 days pass. Infected pregnant rabbits always experience miscarriages.
Pathological changes
The name of the rabbit viral hemorrhagic disease was due to the fact that when opening the carcasses of dead animals, veterinarians always detect multiple hemorrhages in almost all internal organs. Moreover, the liver and kidneys are most affected in rabbits. Animal blood after death may not clot for a long time.
Internal organs are especially severely affected in adult animals. The liver of the dead rabbits is enlarged and easily tears due to a flabby consistency. It has an unnatural color - tan, sometimes with a red tint. It is in the liver of an infected rabbit that an increased concentration of calcivirus is observed. It is mainly due to its reproduction that its function is disturbed.
The spleen in rabbits that died from HBV is slightly enlarged, also has a flabby texture and an unnatural (this time dark purple) color. The kidneys of the dead rabbits are blood-filled, and the gastrointestinal tract is catarrhally inflamed. Multiple hemorrhages are observed in the intestines.
What do rabbits die from?
In addition to liver failure, the death of HBV-infected animals occurs as a result of pulmonary edema. It is the rapid defeat of these two organs that explains the lightning speed of the course of the disease. The lungs of the dead animals are blood-filled and intensely swollen. At the same time, they are colored unevenly, and under the pleura there are multiple point and banded hemorrhages.
Preventative measures
Although HBV calcivirus is transmitted in many ways, infection of animals can still be prevented. Of course, adherence to sanitary standards in rabbitry should also become an obstacle to the development of the disease. Cages and aviaries should be cleaned on time. Not all disinfectants are killed by calcivirus. Therefore, you should use only special tools designed specifically for the treatment of rabbitry.
It is very important to pay maximum attention to the quality of animal feed purchased. Grain and feed should be bought only in prosperous farms with a good reputation.
Rabbit viral hemorrhagic disease: vaccine (varieties)
Keeping cells clean and buying quality barley and oats can significantly reduce the risk of spreading the disease. However, complete vaccination alone will help to completely protect rabbits from HBVC.
Although HBV is not treated, a vaccine against it was created by scientists. Moreover, several of its options can be used on farms:
- associated lyophilized (vaccine against hemorrhagic rabbit disease, myxomatosis);
- inactivated aluminum hydroxide tissue;
- three variants of lyophilized tissue (formol-, theotropin- and thermal vaccines);
- inactivated, used against HBVC and pasteurosis.
Microbiologists have developed not only the vaccine itself against rabbit viral hemorrhagic disease, but also a special serum. This tool is good in that it shows its protective effect two hours after intramuscular injection.
Treatment
There are no specific treatments for a disease such as rabbit viral hemorrhagic disease. However, in some cases, even those animals that already have clinical signs of the disease (first) can be saved by administering the serum described above. But, of course, in this case it is impossible to get a guaranteed result.
Vaccination
Prophylactic injections from HBV should be given to animals 1.5-3 months of age once. A vaccine is introduced against rabbit hemorrhagic disease in the buttock area. Stable immunity is weakened in animals 6-8 months after injection. Rabbits bred for meat are usually killed earlier. Therefore, they do not need to re-vaccinate. Manufacturers are supposed to do injections at intervals of six months. In this case, pregnant rabbits can be vaccinated at any stage of embryo development.