Rabbit vaccination: myxomatosis and RHD, and why indoor rabbits still die of them
Neither of these viral diseases can be treated once it takes hold, so the whole answer is prevention. This guide covers what myxoma virus and rabbit haemorrhagic disease actually do, why RHDV2 differs from the classic strain and why cover against one is not cover against the other, the transmission routes that reach a rabbit that never goes outside, the differentials for facial swelling and for sudden death, the questions to ask your own vet about products and timing, and the biosecurity that goes alongside the injection.
Quick answer
Two viral diseases account for a large share of preventable rabbit deaths, and neither is treatable once it takes hold.
Myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease kill rabbits, including rabbits that never go outside. There is no cure for either, so the whole of the answer is prevention: vaccination, insect control and keeping the virus out of the house.
The single most useful question to ask your vet is which viruses their vaccine actually covers, because protection against one strain of rabbit haemorrhagic disease does not reliably protect against the other.
- Indoor rabbits are at risk. The virus travels on shoes, clothing, hay and insects.
- Rabbit haemorrhagic disease often presents as sudden death with no warning at all.
- Myxomatosis begins around the eyes and the genitals, and progresses over days.
- Vaccination schedules and available products differ by country. Ask specifically about RHDV1 and RHDV2.
- Insect screens, flea control on the cats and dogs in the house, and a shoes-off rule are part of the plan, not extras.
:::danger
A rabbit found dead with no preceding illness may have died of rabbit haemorrhagic disease, and the virus survives in the environment for a long time.
If you lose a rabbit suddenly, do not bring another rabbit into that space until you have spoken to a vet about diagnosis and about disinfection. This virus resists many common household cleaners, and a new rabbit moved into a contaminated hutch or room can die the same way.
If you have other rabbits, tell the practice before you arrive so they can avoid exposing rabbits in the waiting room.
:::
- Species
- rabbits
- Category
- health
- Risk level
- high
- Content focus
- what these two diseases do, why indoor rabbits are exposed, and what vaccination does and does not cover
- Skill level
- beginner
- When to escalate
- any facial or genital swelling, any sudden collapse, or blood at the nose
Decide in 60 seconds
| What you are seeing | Do now |
|---|---|
| Swollen eyelids, thick eye discharge, swollen lips or genitals | Phone the vet now and say you suspect myxomatosis, so they can isolate on arrival |
| Rabbit found dead suddenly, no illness beforehand | Phone the vet. Ask about diagnosis and about disinfecting the space before any other rabbit uses it. |
| Rabbit collapsed, breathing hard, blood at the nose | Emergency, same hour |
| Quiet, off food, feverish, with no obvious cause | Same-day appointment. Off food in a rabbit is urgent regardless of cause. |
| Unvaccinated rabbit, no signs | Book the vaccination course now, and ask which strains it covers |
| Vaccinated last year, cannot remember which product | Ask the practice to check the record for RHDV2 cover specifically |
| Mosquitoes or flies getting into the rabbit's room or hutch | Fit screens today. Vector control is half the protection. |
What each disease does
Myxomatosis.
The myxoma virus is a poxvirus. It is carried mainly by biting insects, principally fleas and mosquitoes, which is why outbreaks track the seasons in which those insects are active, typically late summer into autumn in temperate regions. It also passes by direct contact between rabbits and by contaminated objects.
The classic picture starts at the mucous membranes and thin skin. Swollen, puffy eyelids and a thick discharge that glues the eyes shut. Swelling of the lips, the base of the ears and the genitals. Lumps may appear over the body.
Blindness follows the eye swelling, the rabbit stops eating and drinking, and secondary bacterial pneumonia is common. In an unvaccinated rabbit the disease is usually fatal, and it is not quick. Death takes days to weeks.
Vaccinated rabbits that are exposed may develop a milder, nodular form and survive with treatment, which is one of the strongest arguments for vaccination.
Rabbit haemorrhagic disease.
Caused by a calicivirus. It attacks the liver, causing rapid liver failure and widespread abnormal clotting, which is what produces the haemorrhage the disease is named for.
Owners frequently find a rabbit dead with no preceding illness. Where signs are seen, they are fever, dullness, collapse, laboured breathing, and sometimes blood from the nose or mouth.
There are two forms that matter to owners. The classic virus, RHDV1, and RHDV2, which emerged later and behaves differently. RHDV2 can affect very young rabbits, which the classic virus tends to spare, and it can cause a slower illness rather than sudden death, so it is easier to mistake for something else.
Crucially, cross-protection is incomplete. A rabbit vaccinated only against the classic strain should not be considered protected against RHDV2. This is the detail that gets missed in practice, and it is worth confirming from your own rabbit's record rather than assuming.
Why indoor rabbits die of these
Hay cut from fields where wild rabbits live is one of the routes into a house that never sees an outdoor rabbit.
This is the part owners most often get wrong, and the reason is that the transmission routes do not require rabbit-to-rabbit contact.
Insects come indoors. Mosquitoes and flies enter through open windows and doors. A single bite is enough for myxomatosis.
Fleas arrive on other pets. The rabbit flea lives on wild rabbits and is a highly efficient vector of myxoma virus, and cats and dogs that go outside can bring fleas in.
The virus travels on objects. Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus is notably resistant in the environment. It moves on shoes, clothing, hands, car boots, hutches bought second hand, shared grooming equipment and travel carriers.
Forage and bedding. Hay and grass harvested where wild rabbits graze can carry the virus into a home.
Other people's rabbits. A visit to a friend with rabbits, a rescue, a show, a pet shop or a boarding facility, followed by handling your own rabbit, is a direct route.
So the honest position is that indoor housing reduces risk and does not remove it. Vaccination is the part that closes the gap.
Vaccination, and what to ask
Products, licensed ages and booster intervals differ between countries, and they change as manufacturers update their vaccines. Rather than a schedule that may not apply where you live, take these questions to your own vet.
Timing matters for boarding and for travel. Facilities usually require vaccination completed a set period before arrival, so the appointment needs to happen well ahead rather than the week before.
After the injection, a small firm swelling at the site and a quiet day are common. What is not routine is a rabbit that stops eating for more than a short period, because in rabbits any interruption to eating can tip into gut stasis. Offer favourite greens and the usual hay on the day of vaccination, keep the routine unchanged, and phone if the rabbit has not eaten by the following morning.
The differentials that matter
Facial swelling and eye discharge is not always myxomatosis.
| What it looks like | Also consider | What separates it |
|---|---|---|
| Both eyes swollen, discharge, swelling of lips and genitals, unvaccinated rabbit in insect season | Myxomatosis | Genital swelling and the seasonal, insect-driven pattern |
| One eye watering, no swelling elsewhere | Blocked tear duct from dental root elongation | One-sided, chronic, and often with a history of dental disease |
| One eye, thick discharge, swelling under the eye | Tooth root abscess | A firm swelling on the jaw or under the eye rather than puffy eyelids |
| Sneezing, nasal discharge, matted front paws | Bacterial upper respiratory infection | Discharge is nasal first, and the rabbit wipes its nose with its paws |
| Red, sore eyes with no swelling | Conjunctivitis from bedding dust or ammonia | Improves when the environment is corrected |
Sudden death or rapid collapse is not always RHD.
Heatstroke, gut stasis with bloat, a spinal injury from a fall or a struggle, poisoning from garden plants, and predator-induced shock all cause rapid deterioration. What tips the balance towards rabbit haemorrhagic disease is an unvaccinated rabbit, an absence of any preceding illness, and blood at the nose or mouth.
Getting a diagnosis matters even after death, because it changes what you must do before another rabbit lives in that space.
Biosecurity that actually reduces risk
Insect control.
Fit insect screens on windows and on outdoor hutch and run panels. Remove standing water where mosquitoes breed. Keep flea control up to date on any cat or dog in the household, using products that are safe around rabbits and prescribed by a vet, because several common companion animal products are dangerous to rabbits.
A shoes-off rule at the door of the room the rabbit uses, and hand washing before handling rabbits after being anywhere other rabbits have been.
Hay and forage. Buy from suppliers who store hay under cover. Avoid picking grass and greens from areas where wild rabbits graze.
Quarantine new rabbits away from your existing ones, ideally in a separate room, and ask about their vaccination history before they arrive.
Second-hand equipment. Hutches, carriers and runs can carry the virus. Clean and disinfect with a product with proven activity against caliciviruses, and ask your vet which they recommend, because ordinary household detergents are not sufficient.
After a confirmed case, thorough disinfection of everything the rabbit touched, disposal of porous items such as wooden hutches where practical, and a waiting period before introducing another rabbit, guided by your vet.
Monitoring that catches illness early
Weekly weights and daily dropping checks are what turn a vague sense that something is wrong into a specific, early appointment.
Weigh weekly and write it down. Weight loss precedes most rabbit illnesses.
Check droppings daily. Fewer, smaller or absent droppings mean the gut is slowing, whatever the cause.
Look at the eyes, nose, lips and genital area at the same time each week. Myxomatosis begins in exactly these places, and early swelling is subtle.
Know your rabbit's normal behaviour at the same time of day, because the first sign of most serious illness is a rabbit sitting hunched and still when it would usually be active.
In summer, check the rear end twice daily for flystrike, which is a separate emergency with a similar timescale.
What never to do
Do not assume an indoor rabbit is safe from either disease.
Do not skip a booster because last year was quiet. Disease pressure varies year to year, and vaccination protects the rabbit rather than the year.
Do not take a rabbit with suspected myxomatosis into a waiting room. Phone from the car park.
Do not put a new rabbit into a hutch where a rabbit died suddenly until you have taken advice on disinfection.
Do not use flea products intended for dogs or cats on a rabbit, and check with a vet before using any parasite product on other pets in a rabbit household.
Do not try to treat these at home. There is no home treatment for either disease, and delay costs the rabbit its chance of supportive care.
Do not vaccinate a visibly unwell rabbit without discussing it first.
My rabbit lives entirely indoors on the second floor. Does it really need vaccinating?
My rabbit had a vaccination last year. Is it covered against RHDV2?
Is there any treatment if my rabbit catches one of these?
Can my other rabbit catch it?
When to get help
Same hour, for collapse, laboured breathing, or blood from the nose or mouth.
Same day, for swollen eyelids or genitals, thick eye discharge, a rabbit that has stopped eating, or fewer droppings than normal.
Book now, rather than later, if your rabbit is unvaccinated, if you cannot confirm which strains were covered, or if you are planning boarding, a house move, or the arrival of a second rabbit.
Prevention is unglamorous and it is the entire treatment plan for both of these diseases.
If you have recently lost a rabbit suddenly, ask about post-mortem examination. It is the only way to know whether the space needs disinfecting before another rabbit comes into it, and that answer protects the next animal.
My highlights & notes
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for professional veterinary advice. If your pet is unwell, please consult a veterinarian.
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