Rabbit owners warned over killer disease

A VET is warning rabbit owners that their pets could be at risk from a killer disease sweeping Swansea.

Rick Barrowman, a vet at Companion Care at Parc Tawe's Pets at Home store, has issued a stark warning after putting down 12 pet rabbits suffering from myxomatosis in the past month.

The viral disease causes skin tumours before acute conjunctivitis and possible blindness.

It can be transmitted by fleas, ticks, mosquitoes and fur mite as well as direct contact with infected rabbits, which often become listless, lose appetite, develop a fever and on average, die within 14 days.

"This is a nasty disease which is almost always fatal and although we usually see a rise in cases during autumn, this year seems to be particularly bad," said Mr Barrowman.

"It causes immense suffering to the animal and is linked to ongoing infection in the wild rabbit population.

"A vaccination is available and I would strongly recommend rabbit owners to get in touch with their vet and arrange a vaccination because it's the only thing that can be done to prevent the disease."

Mr Barrowman said he had put down four pet rabbits in the past week and had seen around 12 cases in the past month.

"People may think their rabbits are safe because they don't have contact with wild rabbits but it can be spread by insects which have had contact with infected rabbits," he added.

"The most important thing to do — after feeding a rabbit — is to get it vaccinated."

Symptoms can be different depending on which strain of the virus the rabbit has but it often starts with runny eyes, swelling around the eyes, nose, ears and genitals followed by fever, anorexia, lethargy, skin lesions and skin haemorrhages.