Last month a new vaccine was released in the UK for rabbits called Nobivac Myxo-RHD. Normally rabbits need two vaccines every 6 months for Myxomatosis and RHD separately, however this new vaccine combines both vaccines together and only needs to be given every year, effectively quartering the cost of vaccines and reducing the stress the rabbits have when going to the vets. We have just taken our rabbits to have the vaccines so they can continue to enjoy grass and dandelions from the garden.

Steven nearly joked with the vet that he wasn’t sure about giving the bunnies a combined vaccine – it might give them bunny autism just like MMR did with kids (NOT)!!!! Jokes aside, the number of people on internet forums that seem to think they have just randomly poured the two separate vaccines into one and not tested it at all is absurd. According to the documentation all the side effects are: a slight raised temperature (normal after a live vaccine, the body is fighting it off to become immune) and small swelling of vaccine site.

What is very interesting is that Myxomatosis vaccines are illegal in Australia. They have such a big rabbit overpopulation problem in the wild, that they introduced Myxomatosis in the 1950s to try and kill them off. Because of the potential for the live virus in the vaccine to spread into the wild, this could result in wild rabbit Myxomatosis immunity causing the population to grow again. It’s a shame that many Australian pet rabbits have to needlessly die from the disease just because there are too many of their wild cousins about.

Long story short: Vaccinate your bunnies with the new combined vaccine!