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EC??

K

kayjay

Warren Veteran
As some of you might have read I had to have Pippa pts last night. Reading the forum this morning and in particular this thread http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=112153&highlight=Head+tilt&page=2 I'm wondering if the vet misdiagnosed her :( All the symptoms were there that are in this thread, weight loss, head tilt, staggering around. My vet thought she'd had a stroke secondary to something else.

He did find bleeding at the back of her eyes which he said indicated a brain haemorrhage and also signs of paralysis. Would this occur in EC too?

Even if he has misdiagnosed her, I would have still made the same decision as she was extremely poorly - her temperature was really low and when he pts she went very quicky, he said a sign of how poorly she was and he felt she would have died overnight in any case. So I'm happy (if that's the right word when you feel devastated) that I made the right decision to let her go.

However if it could be EC rather than a stroke, is it catching and is MJ at risk??
 
kayjay said:
As some of you might have read I had to have Pippa pts last night. Reading the forum this morning and in particular this thread http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=112153&highlight=Head+tilt&page=2 I'm wondering if the vet misdiagnosed her :( All the symptoms were there that are in this thread, weight loss, head tilt, staggering around. My vet thought she'd had a stroke secondary to something else.

He did find bleeding at the back of her eyes which he said indicated a brain haemorrhage and also signs of paralysis. Would this occur in EC too?

Even if he has misdiagnosed her, I would have still made the same decision as she was extremely poorly - her temperature was really low and when he pts she went very quicky, he said a sign of how poorly she was and he felt she would have died overnight in any case. So I'm happy (if that's the right word when you feel devastated) that I made the right decision to let her go.

However if it could be EC rather than a stroke, is it catching and is MJ at risk??
Click to expand...

The 'bleeding behind the eye' is more indicative of a CVA than EC *but* it's not impossible for EC to cause a CVA. To be safe I would put MJ onto a course of Panacur. Opinions differ as to how long a preventative course should be. Some say 9 days is enough to rid the Bun of the parasite. But if the parasite had already started to shed spores 9 days would not be long enough and 4-6 weeks is needed.
In your situation I would discuss with your Vet how long a course of Panacur MJ should have. On the one hand I'd say 6 weeks as Pippa did have clinical symptoms that *might* have been EC. On the other hand Panacur is not without side-effects (just like any other med) so I would not want to be giving it for 6 weeks if it wasn't necessary.

I am very sorry about Pippa :cry:

Janex
 
Thanks Jane

I've just had a chat with Kay and she agrees that a preventative course of Pancur would be advisable so I shall ask at the vets tomorrow morning.

MJ is off dating this week, fingers crossed he finds a doe he falls for :)
 
Last edited:
kayjay said:
Thanks Jane

Thing is I'm not convinced our vet knows a great deal about rabbits. He was very nice last night but said a couple of things that worried me.

Firstly he said 'we do see quite a lot of these symptoms but then we only get to see sick rabbits' - so if he sees a lot of these symptoms should he not know more about them?? I did ask if it could be EC and he said he didn't think it was he was confident in his stroke diagnosis. A while back I took her with an enlarged genital area, swollen and crusty, and we never really got to the bottom of it. I saw the other vet, who is more rabbit savvy, and after tests couldn't find any reason for it, ie wasn't myxi etc, we agreed to leave it alone as it wasn't bothering her. The vet last night said that it's possible that it was a malignancy which had caused the weight loss, possibly stemming from this genital area thing, and her body simply couldn't cope anymore hence the stroke. All sounds plausible.

When I got upset he then said 'we do get attached to these little animals I know' in a very nice sympathetic way - but at the time I did think 'why shouldn't we get attached to our rabbit, they aren't less worthy of our love than cats or dogs' which did make me angry. I know he is a dog/cat vet and the other vet, Karen, who I normally see, is the bunny vet. But even so..

MJ seems in good health at the moment and is a good weight. I wonder if it's worth taking him to the vets, getting him checked over and weighed and monitor him. If he starts to lose weight or show any symptoms then treat him. Does this sound like a plan?

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated x
Click to expand...

I would do a 9 day Panacur Rabbit on MJ as a precaution

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Intervet_UK_Ltd/Panacur_Rabbit___18_75_ACU-_Oral_Paste/-42086.html

http://www.petremedies.co.uk/prodtype.asp?CAT_ID=156

I wonder if Pippa had Treponamatosis (Rabbit Syphillis). I believe that in humans untreated Syphillis involving Treponema can cause eye damage uveitis, optic atrophy, and chorioretinitis (Inflammation of the chorotoid and retina of the eye). Also, in humans untreated Syphillis can cause intracranial infarctions but I am not sure if it applies to Treponema type Syphillis and if it does then I dont know if the same applies for Rabbits.

I guess all you can really do is Panacur MJ as a precaution against EC. As you know the only way to possibly find out why a Bun has become sick and died/was PTS would be to have a full PM with tissue sampling etc. Even then its possible to not get a conclusive diagnosis

:cry:

Janex
 
I've just had a chat with Karen, the more bunny savvy vet, and she agreed a course of panacur would be the best plan of action for MJ. She rang up the manufacturers and they recommended a 28 day course as Karen believes Pippa could well have had EC although obviously it's guesswork without a pm. She said thereafter to give a 9 day course twice a year is now being recommended. Now to persuade MJ it's in his best interests....

Thanks for that info Jane. With her genital crustiness I've wondered if it were syphillis. I'm happy to treat MJ though as if it were EC as I would hate him to go the same way.
 
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