Rabbits are fairly common animals in the household. Tasty meat of these animals encourages farmers to breed them in hundreds, since this is not difficult, thanks to their extreme fertility. Those who have these animals on the farm know that there is a dangerous rabbit disease - myxomatosis, from which the whole population can die out if necessary measures are not taken. What it is? What are the symptoms of this ailment? How is myxomatosis treated in rabbits?
What is a disease?
Myxomatosis is a virus that affects only animals, it does not affect people at all. It is extremely acute. Transmitted via:
• mosquitoes;
• mosquitoes;
• fleas;
• lice;
• ticks.
Also, the source of the disease is the sick or ill rabbits themselves, who are carriers of the virus. The causative agent of myxomatosis is very dangerous and can continue to live even in the bodies of dead animals for up to seven days. In soil, the virus can live for about 2 years.
An interesting feature is that European rabbits are most sensitive to this ailment, and when a representative of such a breed is infected, treatment does not give the desired result. The animal dies quickly. Myxomatosis in rabbits is caused exclusively by the virus and is characterized by an extremely fast and acute course.
Symptoms of the disease
Signs of the virus are expressed in nodules and swelling of the ears, eyes, parts of the head, genitals, and anus. Rhinitis, sneezing, and discharge from the ears and eyes are also noted. It should be noted that the appetite remains the same, animals do not refuse food. Although some individuals chew the hay with some lethargy.
When infected, rabbits show a strong increase in body temperature, up to 41 °. Often, heat alone is enough to kill an animal. If there are symptoms of rabbit disease - myxomatosis - treatment should be carried out under the supervision of a veterinarian. Only after receiving expert advice from a specialist. action can be taken.
How to treat myxomatosis in rabbits
The most common form of treatment for the disease is vaccination of animals. When the first symptoms of the disease appear, it is necessary to immediately transplant the individuals infected with the virus into separate cells and keep them there until complete recovery. The treatment of myxomatosis in rabbits does not take much time, but it requires certain skills. To carry out all necessary procedures, it is necessary to consult a qualified veterinarian, and even better - call a doctor in place.
It is worth remembering that even after the rabbit seems completely healthy to you, it still remains a carrier of a dangerous virus. Therefore, the recovered animal must be quarantined for several months.
That vaccine against rabbit myxomatosis is very effective and is widely used in veterinary medicine. It is worth noting that this tool is recommended to be used for livestock even for the prevention of the disease.
How vaccination occurs
In rabbit disease (myxomatosis), treatment consists in vaccinating the entire population. To carry out this procedure, you need to purchase a tool and syringes. Each animal needs to be pricked independently in the thigh or anus, the veterinarian will inform more about this. It is necessary for each individual to use a separate syringe. Experienced farmers are not advised to vaccinate females on demolitions, as well as nursing rabbits.
One ampoule, consisting of a strain of Myxoma virus, is divided into 10 doses. Before vaccination, it is necessary to properly boil the syringes or use disposable ones. The injection site itself must be disinfected with alcohol.
After the procedure, the animals need careful care. Keep an eye on rabbits for 20 days. It is necessary to independently conduct a daily examination of patients, manually checking them for the presence of nodules on the head and in the anus. Do not neglect these measures, since the slightest oversight threatens the extinction of the entire rabbit economy.
How is recovery
Vaccination against a virus implies the production of antibodies in the body of animals on the 5th day after the procedure. Treatment of myxomatosis in rabbits should occur under sterile conditions, the cells need to be packed only with high-quality hay. Feeding rabbits is also necessary with caution, giving only proven food.
Recovery from the disease is characterized by the healing of conjunctivitis and the disappearance of nodules. At the lesion sites, necrosis forms, which eventually pass. As a result of vaccination, rabbits acquire immunity against the virus, in the future a repetition of infection of animals is unlikely.
Prevention
Treatment of myxomatosis in rabbits requires vaccination with a strain of the myxoma virus. Prevention of the disease is also carried out using the same tool. This procedure must be done to young rabbits at the age of 28 days. However, if the conditions of detention do not comply with hygiene standards, then it is possible to vaccinate newborns by waiting 7 days. This does not give one hundred percent protection against the virus, but it significantly increases the chances of the livestock surviving upon infection.
There is an opinion that sick rabbits should not be treated. You need to get rid of them, since recovered animals will remain carriers of myxomatosis for life. However, experienced rabbit breeders agree that it is necessary and even recommended to keep sick individuals. The fact is that in the future the offspring will be much more resistant against myxomatosis than the previous one.
Myxomatosis is a contagious viral disease that is completely harmless to humans. Rabbits are so tender creatures that when infected with the Myxoma virus, the livestock die in the shortest possible time, and the fight against the disease requires a lot of effort. Therefore, the implementation of preventive measures is much more profitable and effective than treating the entire livestock from the acute form of the disease.