Rabbit disease vaccine finally hits South Africa’s shores

Vaccines for rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) are now, for the very first time, available in South Africa. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development confirmed that vaccines have been successfully imported. The outbreak of RHD in November last year caught the agricultural sector off guard when the disease was confirmed in parts of the country. South Africa had been historically RHD-free up until the first outbreak in November 2022 and vaccination against the disease was not previously available or allowed in the country. As it stands, South Africa currently has 218 open RHD outbreaks reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). Most of these outbreaks occurred in the Northern Cape (65 outbreaks). The Western Cape has 41 outbreaks, while a smaller number of outbreaks were reported in the Free State (6) and Eastern Cape (5). Most recently, an outbreak was confirmed in Gauteng. “The vaccine has now been successfully imported and rabbit owners ...