# Myxi Cases in Sonoma County, California!



## naturestee

Someone on Etherbun reported that a "second set" (I must have missed the post about the first set) of buns have died in Sonoma County, CA due to confirmed myxmatosis. This particular case was in Forestville. This is not the first time that myxi has affected domestic rabbits in California and it also occurs in wild rabbits in Oregon.

Do your best to keep your rabbits safe! Inside is best, but if they are outside protect them from fleas and mosquitoes. Monthly treatments such as Revolution or Advantage will help to keep fleas of off buns. For mosquitoes, put mosquito netting over hutches. Do not encourage wild rabbits to come to your yard as they might carry infected fleas. Outdoor cats might also carry infected rabbit fleas, so make sure your cats are getting preventative flea treatments as well and preferably keep them inside.

*No vaccine is available in the US.*

For more info on myxi in California:
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/myxo.html


----------



## Phinnsmommy

Oh jeez! Thanks for that Angela!

Thats so sad


----------



## Leaf

*naturestee wrote: *


> Monthly treatments such as Revolution or Advantage will help to keep fleas of off buns.



Does anyone have rule of thumb, accurate and correct doseage measurements available?

On that front as well, I know in some dog breeds certian medications can cause deadly results as the medications attack the nervous system. Has this been found in lagomorphs?


----------



## naturestee

Fleas


Frontline is fatal. As always, research over the counter flea products before using them as some have very bad track records such as Hartz. A vet should know the appropriate dosage for Advantage or Revolution for a rabbit.

Any animal can have a bad reaction to a "safe" medication so keep a close eye on them when trying something new. I do know of one rabbit who had a very bad reaction to Revolution, but in general it appears to be very safe.


----------



## Leaf

Your answer about the Frontline is more of what I was getting at. 

As for medication sensitivities in breeds of rabbits, I wonder if any research or studies have come up at all, kind of like in the case of Ivermectin and Collies.

I'll post it on Etherbun and see what comes up.


----------



## naturestee

There is a suspected link between blue eyed dutch rabbits and Ivermectin sensitivity. Unfortunately I can't find any research on it. But it has been a problem in at least two RO rabbits that I know of.

Other than that I haven't heard of any breed-linked problems.


----------



## gentle giants

I didn't know collies were sensitive to Ivermectin. I do know they are sensitive to Heartguard, you have to watch them first couple of times they get it.

I thought I had heard that Revolution wasn't safe for rabbits, mabye I was mixing it up with the Frontline. Revolution is what all our cats, including outdoor ones,get monthly, Taz (our dog) gets Frontline.


----------



## undergunfire

We used Revolution on Marlin when we were staying with Peg. Revolution is also used on rat's without any issues.


----------



## Gabby

*gentle giants wrote: *


> I didn't know collies were sensitive to Ivermectin. I do know they are sensitive to Heartguard, you have to watch them first couple of times they get it.
> 
> I thought I had heard that Revolution wasn't safe for rabbits, mabye I was mixing it up with the Frontline. Revolution is what all our cats, including outdoor ones,get monthly, Taz (our dog) gets Frontline.



heartguard has ivermectin in it. I personally use interceptor as my heart worm prevenitive in my border collie, because they can develope a reactionto ivermectinat any time, why take the chance, but that is all personal decision. I do know that interceptor seems to be the most gentle to dogs with uimune system issues so personally I'd rather play safe than sorry. 

As to reveloution, the reps if consulted will tell you it is safe to use. Frontline is deadly. 

As to ivermectin reactions I had an english angora have a reaction to it.the question i guess is do certain genes that create certain markings make them any more sensitive like the collies. or is it just general some do some don't?


----------



## Ivory

I just read this, and I have a few questions:

How the heck did it get over here?

Which states is it present in?

I've heard recently that some cases have been found in Texas, however the source of this information isn't what I would call informed or even particularly intelligent, therefore I question it. When I asked, the response I got was, "Yeah, they've gotten necropsies and everything." But necropsies don't confirm a virus, sending tissue samples to laboratories do.

So, does anyone know?


----------



## naturestee

I think it's native. Wasn't myxmatosis first found on one of the American continents?

It's been in the wild rabbits in California for years but isn't usually fatal for them.

I'm at work so I can't look up more info, but I'll check later tonight.


----------



## Ivory

It was originally in South America, yes.

Buns of the _Sylvilagus_ genus don't have much of a problem with it. It just gives them some tumors that I believe are eventually self-limited. But to our buns, obviously it's fatal.

That's pretty much all I've gotten so far.


----------



## ~Bracon~

Even though the mxy jab is available in the UK, it's only a few percent affective isnt it?


----------



## naturestee

_Sylvilagus_ sp. are carriers of myxi in California. You're right, it's not as bad of a disease for them which is why they are successful carriers/hosts of the virus.

Ivory, here's some info on a 2002 myxi outbreak in California:
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/myxo.html
[font="Verdana,Sand,Arial,Geneva,Helvetica,Sans-Serif,MS Sans Serif"]_"Confirmed via postmortem tissue pathology"_

[/font] More info, including on the California strain of the virus:
http://www.radil.missouri.edu/info/dora/RABBPAGE/vir.htm#I.
http://www.kindplanet.org/myxo2.html

Bracon, I'm not sure what the percentage is but the vaccine is significantly effective. Another important thing is that although this year seems particularly bad for vaccinated rabbits in the UK getting myxi (a new strain, perhaps?), vaccinated rabbits are far, far more likely to get a lesser form of myxi that is not as deadly. With proper vet treatment, many of these vaccinated rabbits can and do survive. I know of quite a few. So the vaccine is definately worth it.

The vaccine is not available in the US, and might not be effective against the California strain anyway.


----------



## MsBinky

Wow :?I guess it was just a matter of time... It's scary though. I hope no other members have to deal with it :?


----------



## Haley

This is ridiculous. I cant believe we dont have a vaccine if Myxi is here. Does anyone know the reasoning for not having a vaccine?

For people asking about flea control- Revolultion is usually best. For bunnies ~4 lbs, you use the kitten dosage. You should repeat in 3 weeks or so for any eggs that may hatch after the initial treatment.


----------



## Ivory

Do they mean "not readily available" in the US? Because I'm pretty sure that Dad can order it. I'm not positive, and he hasn't looked into it much.

The vaccine is *mostly* quite effective. It's definitely worth it to get if it's available and needed. I don't think it's needed in the US quite yet, but then again I don't know exactly how bad it is right now.


----------



## naturestee

Each US outbreak only seems to be a handful or less of domestic rabbits and then it disappears for a year or more. I heard of this new outbreak on Etherbun but haven't heard anything for a couple of weeks now.

I don't know if the vaccine used in the UK would work against the strain in the US. Just like each year the flu vaccine is different for the different strains, I think we'd need a different vaccine.

And I thought the myxi vaccine wasn't allowed in the US because it might cause problems with testing for it in an outbreak? Or was that just for the VHD vaccine?


----------



## Ivory

Now that I don't know, the FDA is awfully picky about new vaccines. I'm not sure at all.


----------



## missyscove

That's what I thought too.
*
naturestee wrote*


> And I thought the myxi vaccine wasn't allowed in the US because it might cause problems with testing for it in an outbreak? Or was that just for the VHD vaccine?


----------



## BlueCamasRabbitry

*)naturestee wrote: *


> Someone on Etherbun reported that a "second set" (I must have missed the post about the first set) of buns have died in Sonoma County, CA due to confirmed myxmatosis. This particular case was in Forestville. This is not the first time that myxi has affected domestic rabbits in California and it also occurs in wild rabbits in Oregon.
> 
> Do your best to keep your rabbits safe! Inside is best, but if they are outside protect them from fleas and mosquitoes. Monthly treatments such as Revolution or Advantage will help to keep fleas of off buns. For mosquitoes, put mosquito netting over hutches. Do not encourage wild rabbits to come to your yard as they might carry infected fleas. Outdoor cats might also carry infected rabbit fleas, so make sure your cats are getting preventative flea treatments as well and preferably keep them inside.
> 
> *No vaccine is available in the US.*
> 
> For more info on myxi in California:
> http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/myxo.html



Do you think my bunnies are safe in a shed!? They dont have fleas, but I will check them tomorrow to be sure. I know that there are wild bunnies in my area because when we first moved here my dog killed a baby nonono. So it may be possible that the wild ones have Myxi? 

Emily


----------



## PixieStixxxx

Oh jeez... it's only a matter of time before Myxi spreads. I've been very paranoid - digging through my hay, checking my guys over for fleas.

I've been using Advantage for my guys. I give them a quarter of the dose, and it kills everything within 3 weeks. My friend is a vet tech, and she told me that she learned something in her class about Advantage being the better adult flea killing than Revolution. I dunno.. something about those lines.


----------

