Rabbits are valuable for their soft thick fur and delicious, delicate and sweet dietary meat. That is why the breeding of these animals has not lost its relevance for many years. Rabbits multiply rapidly, but often get sick. An infection that affects one animal can be instantly transmitted to everyone else, and as a result, it is often almost impossible to save at least one of them.
Most often, rabbits are affected by hemorrhagic disease and myxomatosis. It is best to take care of the health of your eared animals in advance, and not wait until the disease arrives. For this purpose, vaccinations are actively used. The best protection against myxomatosis is Rabbivac-B. The rabbivac-V vaccine also protects against hemorrhagic rabbit disease . Instructions for use, doses, composition and analogues of the drug are presented in this article.
Hemorrhagic disease - what is it?
Hemorrhagic disease, or HBV, is a very contagious infection that leads to the destruction of 80 to 100% of rabbits and is observed only in these animals. This disease was first discovered in 1984 in China. Then the infected rabbits were brought to Italy, where the infection instantly spread to all regions, which led to the bankruptcy of many rabbit breeders. Before Russia, a wave of hemorrhagic disease came two years later.
The virus can be transmitted through soil, manure, water, feed, animal skin and fur. Rabbits can be infected through mice, rats, chickens, and humans. For humans, this virus is not dangerous, but rabbits are usually affected en masse. Adult animals and young animals older than three months are most susceptible to infection. Reliably protect their rabbits from infection only vaccination will help. "Rabbivak-V" (instructions for use, doses and contraindications are given below) - an excellent tool to solve this problem.
Symptoms of hemorrhagic disease
The latent period of the disease can last from two to five days. It happens that no symptoms are manifested, in which case the mass detection of animal corpses becomes a complete surprise for the rabbit breeder. But more often than not, animals begin to lose their appetite, they have cramps, irritability and hemorrhages from the mouth and nose, they make moans and squeaks, breathe heavily, and only die after one or two days.
HBVC affects almost all the internal organs of rabbits. They have an enlarged liver, kidney, heart and spleen. Hemorrhages occur in the internal organs, and severe inflammation occurs in the gastrointestinal tract. The death of animals usually occurs due to pulmonary edema. Only the easy-to-use and reliable "Rabbivak-V", the instructions for which are always attached, can prevent such torment.
"Rabbivak-V": description, composition
The direct prescription is specifically against hemorrhagic disease indicates the instructions for use accompanying the drug "Rabbivac-V". The composition of this vaccine:
- inactivated strain of hemorrhagic disease of rabbits (not less than 0.7 log 2 GAE in one dose);
- adjuvant 3% alumina;
- preservative 0.8 percent formalin.
The product will look like a light brown suspension (liquid with suspended particles). Glass vials or ampoules may contain a different amount of liquid preparation. You can find out how much you have to deal with either on the bottle or ampoule itself, or the instructions for use accompanying Rabbivak-V will tell you about it. Dosages for vaccinating each rabbit will be described later.
Indications and properties
As indicated by the accompanying "Rabbivak-V" instructions for use, the biological properties of the drug can protect rabbits from the spread of hemorrhagic disease. Immunity to it occurs in animals on the 5-9th day after a single injection. Within 12 months, rabbits will have the ability to resist disease immunity.
This vaccine is used in farms and the private sector where there is a threat of this disease. So the instruction attached to the drug "Rabbivac-V" advises. Personal protective measures during the procedure that each rabbit breeder is required to observe are described below. Is it possible to vaccinate pregnant rabbits?
If there is no obvious threat, then it is better to wait until the animal gives birth. In the case when a viral infection is rampant in the neighboring farm, all should be vaccinated without exception. You should be aware that the immunity created by vaccination against HBV in a pregnant rabbit is not transmitted to her offspring. After reaching the required age, they should also be vaccinated.
Vaccination and dosage
The suspension must be thoroughly shaken before administration, as indicated in the instructions for use attached to Rabbivak -V. Doses for a single administration to each rabbit are the same - 1 mg (1 cube in a syringe). The vaccine is administered intramuscularly or under the skin in the back of the thigh. During the procedure, it is extremely important to observe the rules of antiseptics. If only one syringe is used, then before each new introduction of the vaccine it must be boiled for 15-20 minutes. However, nothing should be added to the water.
Vaccination is carried out only by healthy animals. The first time it is necessary to produce it when the rabbits turn 30-45 days old, according to the instructions for use attached to the Rabbivak-V product. The procedure for using the drug for subsequent vaccinations should be strictly observed, otherwise this will lead to a decrease in its effectiveness. Revaccination should be carried out no later than three months after the first, and then every six months.
Adverse reactions
It was not possible to identify any reaction from the animal organism with an overdose of the drug. An allergic reaction to it occurs extremely rarely. If this nevertheless happened, it is necessary to refuse re-vaccination of the animal and carry out the necessary treatment. Rabbit meat can be eaten immediately after vaccination.
Contraindications
It contains the instructions for the use of contraindications of the kind attached to the Rabbivac-V vaccine:
- vaccination should not be carried out for sick and weakened animals;
- It is strictly forbidden to combine Rabbivac-V with other immunobiological preparations ;
- other vaccines cannot be vaccinated if less than 14 days have passed since vaccination. The same amount should be maintained until the introduction of Rabbivak-V;
- before vaccination, worms must be removed from rabbits.
To ensure reliable protection of animals from extinction, it is necessary to vaccinate not only against hemorrhagic disease, but also from myxomatosis. They can be carried out in any order, but with a mandatory exposure of a two-week interval.
Personal protection
Among other things, it contains instructions for the use of personal preventive measures attached to Rabbivak-V. These include protecting the body of the vaccineer. Such a person must wear:
- latex gloves;
- rubber boots;
- headdress;
- pants;
- bathrobe;
- closed type glasses.
Contingency during vaccination
Before vaccination, it is important to ensure that the drug does not get on human skin, mucous membranes, clothing, floor, earth or other surrounding materials. If this still happens, you must perform the following actions:
- in case of accidental contact of the vaccine with human skin or mucous membranes, it is necessary to rinse this area well with running water
- if there was an accidental administration of the drug to a person, it is necessary to treat the injection site with ethyl alcohol as soon as possible and immediately go to the hospital. It is important that you have the instructions for use with the Rabbivac-V product;
- if the vaccine accidentally gets on the ground, floor or any material, it is necessary to immediately fill this place with a solution of sodium hydroxide or chloramine.
Storage rules
The shelf life of the drug "Rabbivac-V" is 18 months. At the same time, it must be stored separately from food, away from children and animals. At temperatures above 25 degrees, the product loses its properties. It is not desirable that the storage temperature be below 2 and above 8 degrees. When planning to purchase Rabbivak-V on one of the hot days of summer, it is important to consider how to keep its temperature within the acceptable range on the way home. You can use ice for this.
If the vaccine has expired, it is not enough just to throw the ampoule or bottle into the bin. Before this, they must be boiled for 30 minutes. Boiling can be replaced by a half-hour treatment in a five percent solution of chloramine or a two percent solution of alkali. This should be done when the suspension has changed color, if the vial or ampoule has lost its integrity or with the remains of the drug in the container, when one hour has passed since the opening.
Existing analogues
Today, combination preparations are often used to vaccinate rabbits, which help protect animals simultaneously from HBV and myxomatosis. So, for sale are:
- associated vaccine;
- Pestorin Mormix;
- Lapimun Gemiks.
The vaccination schedule in the case of the use of such drugs remains unchanged. The effectiveness of such drugs, combining just two actions, is being debated. As indicated by the instructions for use attached to the Rabbivak-V product (photo of the drug is provided in the article), its effect is directed only against hemorrhagic disease. Similar action also have:
- Pestorin;
- Pokrovsky vaccine;
- Lapium Gem.
How to process a cell after HBVC
What if an infection with this virus occurred in your household but you do not want to stop breeding rabbits? How to protect them from virus residues in the cell? Several tools that can destroy VGBK can help with this. Effective in this case, disinfectants based on chlorine, acids and hydrogen peroxide. Even ordinary inexpensive whiteness will do. Use it to thoroughly wash the cage. Some rabbit breeders spray it from the spray gun to be sure. Previously, the place of stay of sick rabbits must be cleaned of manure, wool residues, feed.
How effective is HBV vaccination?
Vaccination does not provide 100% protection. But still, the probability of infection after its implementation is only 3%. So, vaccination in this case can be considered quite justified. Moreover, so far there are no drugs that would help cure rabbits from HBV.
If the virus has entered the economy, then protecting animals from it is a very difficult task. There are too many ways to transmit it, and it is not possible to block all of them. In this case, 80 out of 100 unvaccinated rabbits become infected, and 9 out of 10 infected rabies die. In a word, the consequences that a highly infectious hemorrhagic disease virus can lead to are catastrophic. And only a relatively inexpensive and quite effective vaccination with the help of the drug "Rabbivak-V" is able to protect animals from this fate, thereby saving the breeders from ruin.
To avoid infection with HBV in your household, after acquiring adult rabbits, try to vaccinate them as soon as possible. It is better to make a purchase in a safe place, and it is also good if the animal received the vaccine before it even came to you. If you are not sure about this, keep them separate from other animals for about a month. If no suspicious signs are noticed, you can put them in a common cell.
Rabbit meat is a very tasty and healthy meat. No wonder the price for it is so high. Everyone knows that rabbits reproduce very quickly, but not everyone knows how often and seriously they get sick. Caring for these furry eared creatures is not at all limited to only feeding. They still have to be treated for various diseases. Viral hemorrhagic disease is not one of the curable, therefore, animals can be saved from it only through timely vaccination. "Rabbivak-V", the instruction and method of application of which were described in detail above, is a tool quite suitable for this purpose. Neither for rabbits, nor for humans it is harmful, and its effectiveness reaches 97%.