Communication pathways and vaccine demand following the emergence of RHDV2 in the UK

Background: The emergence of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2) in the UK presented a significant epidemiological shift as it demonstrated antigenic divergence and incomplete cross-protection from existing vaccines. Aims: Assess how communication influenced vaccine demand and awareness of RHDV2 vaccine availability; explore the relationship between reported deaths from RHDV2 and veterinary surgeries stocking vaccines; and evaluate public awareness of the availability of the RHDV2 vaccines. Methods: A retrospective mixed-methods design was used for the period between January 2015 and December 2018. Six datasets were analysed: special import certificates, crowd-sourced vaccine stockists, citizen-reported cases, academic publications, hobbyist magazines and official surveillance. Findings: A strong association was found between peer-reviewed journal articles and SIC requests. Suspected and confirmed case reports were structurally linked to the number of practices stocking the vaccines. RHDV2 was found to have a strong seasonal element, peaking in summer. Substantial discrepancies were observed between citizen-reported domestic cases and formal wildlife or international surveillance data. Conclusions: RHDV2 not being a notifiable disease contributed to the delay between the emergence of RHDV2 and UK veterinary practice awareness. The inherent lag in journal article publication meant that informal communication channels like social media became the primary drivers of disease awareness and vaccine demand.