Viral haemorrhagic disease

Rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD) is a highly contagious disease that affects only rabbits of the Oryctolagus cuniculus species. VHD is also known as  rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD) and rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD). It is caused by the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), also known as rabbit calicivirus (RCV).

There are a number of different strains of RHD. Currently RHDV2 (VHD-2), a strain found in France in 2010, is spreading throughout Europe. The UK does not have access to a vaccine that is effective against the new strain. Work on importing the new version of the vaccine is under-way. See the for more information.