Panacur clarification please

The more I read on this forum about Panacuring rabbits the more confusing and contradictory the information becomes :? Especially about the length and frequency of courses.

Many of my bunnies have active EC symptoms therefore it is very important to me that I get it right.

Does anyone have the definative answer to the following questions?

1. Should a course of panacur for an active EC bunny be 28 days or 6 weeks? The majority of people on here recommend 6 weeks, where as my vet and the manufacturer recommend 28 days. Where did information on 6 weeks being more effective than 28 days originally come from?

2. Does the 9 day preventative course actually work and if so how? If a bunny is EC negative will the 9 days do anything? and if it has an inactive infection how long does it help for? Does the panacur stay in the body some how eg like a vaccine? If not what happens if a negative bunny picks up spores on day 10,11 or 12 will it affect the bunny as if it had never had the panacur?

3. How many times a year should the courses be repeated and for how long? It seems there is advice to give them anything from 2 to 4 times a year :? If the bunny continues to be EC active how long should follow up courses be, 9 days or 4/6 weeks?

4 If a bunny has had a 28day/6 week course but within a short time their symptoms deteriorate how soon after the initial course can they have another that will have some effect?

5. How long do you treat the partner of an active EC bunny for, 9 days or 28days/6weeks?

6. I know there is now evidence that long term use of panacur has some long term side effects but will over use also cause the parasite to become resistent?

7. It is widely thought that stress such as operations including neuterings can trigger an active EC infection, so a course of panacur before hand where possible was considered a good idea. However if there is evidence that panacur can lower the immune systems response surely it is not a good idea to panacur routinely before an op. as this can leave a bunny open to an increase risk of infection :?

Obviously having panacured my bunnies for many years I have my own opinions on the answers to these questions and have been treating my bunnies to the best of my abilities with the information available. It would be just be good if the correct use of panacur was laid out in black and white somewhere

Good Luck with that lot Liz :lol::lol::lol:

My vet told me even if you manage to hold down the top 'EC' vets you will get two different answers on two different occasions, so the way I see it is there are no 100% definitive answers....just a whole lot of research that really needs to be done.

In a way I'm pleased about that, means there is a good reason why I'm so confused :lol::lol:

EC + Me = Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh !!!

For now I Panacur all new intakes for 9 days. I do not routinely Panacur anyBun there-after unless an 'active' case occurs.

I have one blood test confimed EC Bun and he is Panacured for 9 days every 6 months.

I treat an in-contact Rabbit of an 'active EC' Bun with 9 days at the start of active EC Buns 28 day course and 9 days before the end of it.

I have real concerns about over-use of Fenbendazole and consequent resistance to it :?

How much are people paying for an EC Titres blood test. I was recently quoted £100......................:shock:

.............and two tests are really needed...............:shock:

Jack's-Jane said:

I have one blood test confimed EC Bun and he is Panacured for 9 days every 6 months.

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I do this, i also panacur her partners as well, but i do not routinly panacur the rest of the rabbits

Jack's-Jane said:

EC + Me = Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh !!!

For now I Panacur all new intakes for 9 days. I do not routinely Panacur anyBun there-after unless an 'active' case occurs.

I have one blood test confimed EC Bun and he is Panacured for 9 days every 6 months.

I treat an in-contact Rabbit of an 'active EC' Bun with 9 days at the start of active EC Buns 28 day course and 9 days before the end of it.

I have real concerns about over-use of Fenbendazole and consequent resistance to it :?

How much are people paying for an EC Titres blood test. I was recently quoted £100......................:shock:

.............and two tests are really needed...............:shock:

Click to expand...

Some of that information has surprised me as you were only advising a few months back to give a 6 week course to an active EC bunny and its partner :?

Its not it any way a criticism I'm just wondering where the new information has come from as I am panacuring partners of symptomatic bunnies with the full course :?

I've read so much about panacur my brain hurts too and I only have two bunnies to worry about. :shock::shock:

It's so confusing, I know. I think the truth is no-one (including vets) know how much Panacur/Lapizole is actually needed to keep EC under control. It doesn't seem to wipe out the spores, but just keep the numbers under control. I read about 18 months ago now that 6 weeks was the 'life cycle of the spore'.

My old vet told me that the 28 days figure was pretty much 'pulled from a hat', and that proper studies hadn't yet been done.

My experience of EC is that it keeps returning, making repeat courses for active case bunnies necessary. However, I'm not sure about routine use of Panacur/Lapizole for non-confirmed EC bunnies. In terms of contact cases, I really have no idea.

Hugo's There said:

Some of that information has surprised me as you were only advising a few months back to give a 6 week course to an active EC bunny and its partner :?

Its not it any way a criticism I'm just wondering where the new information has come from as I am panacuring partners of symptomatic bunnies with the full course :?

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Since speaking with a couple of Vets the change has come about as a result of the concerns re resistence to Fenbendazole and also the possible negative effect on bone marrow production that long courses of Panacur might cause. Should these Vet's opinions change I will no doubt be doing something different yet again Like all things in Veterinary medicine, treatment recommendations evolve and nothing is set in stone.

But people should take advice from their Vet not from me

I just wish they'd find a better treatment - one that actually wipes it out.

Completely OT but I love your reason for editing your post Jane. :lol::lol:

KarenM said:

Completely OT but I love your reason for editing your post Jane. :lol::lol:

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SarahP said:

I just wish they'd find a better treatment - one that actually wipes it out.

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Me too...............

Hugo's There said:

1. Should a course of panacur for an active EC bunny be 28 days or 6 weeks? The majority of people on here recommend 6 weeks, where as my vet and the manufacturer recommend 28 days. Where did information on 6 weeks being more effective than 28 days originally come from?

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the only bit i can help with - 28 days is an arbitrary number given, because its the equivalent to a month, and the proper testing still hasnt been done to work out an actual effective treatment period. So i would go with 6 weeks for an active case as this seems to be anecdotally more effective.

sorry to hijack the thread but EC and Panacur confuse me soooo....much :?

I just started worming my bunnies in january with panacur and was going to treat every 6 months but they havent showen any signs of EC so would once a year be better so they dont become 'immune' to the drug? :? :?

Or is it better to get them tested for EC and then decide whats best!

Also if i have an Inactive EC bun and an Active EC bun would the inactive bun be able to catch EC from the active bun (oh so confusing :lol

FudgeMallow said:

Also if i have an Inactive EC bun and an Active EC bun would the inactive bun be able to catch EC from the active bun (oh so confusing :lol

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In my limited experience, yes, as this appears to have been what happened to my bunnies. A few days after they were spayed one became ill and the other was fine. I now think that the stress on the body brought out an active case of EC. About 2 weeks later the same symptoms developed in the other bun, so an active case must have been caught by the other.

There are many variables though, and I obviously can't prove this. The only proof is:
- one of them had an EC test that came out highly positive to exposure (I only tested one bunny). As we know, these tests aren't fantastic though.
- they both reacted positively to Panacur with a reduction in symptoms

I have looked loads at E.C sites since getting Jet and a little before.

I found out they are trialling a new drug - I think it's a horse one (forgotten the name now), they seem to think the outlook is positive. Saying that my favourites are now crammed with EC pages and I cant find the info again.

I do want to compile as much info as possible though which will involve emailing vets across the UK to get their stance. If anyone wants to help then perhaps in the near future we can have a pinned topic as these confusing questions keep popping up :lol:

Anyway off to vets now :roll:

Would the bonded partner of a bunny with EC, receive a 28 day course?

my thoughts are:


1. Should a course of panacur for an active EC bunny be 28 days or 6 weeks? I would do 28 days....Neither is going to kill all the spores but 28 days should be enough to make a big dent. My vet advise 28 days for active.

2. Does the 9 day preventative course actually work and if so how? Yes it works as a tool to reduce the level of EC in the body which would hopefully mean that a period of stress would make it less likely for an active infection to take hold.

If a bunny is EC negative will the 9 days do anything? No although it wont harm them. testing for ec though is expensive & doesn't guarantee they wont get infected int he future & worming as a preventative is probably the better option.


Does the panacur stay in the body some how eg like a vaccine? I'm not 100% sure. I don't think that it does, possibly a small residual effect for a few days. You must ensure whilst you are worming for an active infection that you bleach all water & food bowls. I'd also change litter daily & bleech litter trays & I would try and give the hutch a good bleach at least once a week.


3. How many times a year should the courses be repeated and for how long? my ec's bun symptom is urinary incontinence. He seems to need retreating about 2-3 times a year with a full course...however many bunnys will be ok with a 9 day course. I think it very much depends on the bun.

4 If a bunny has had a 28day/6 week course but within a short time their symptoms deteriorate how soon after the initial course can they have another that will have some effect? Straight away, although keeping in mind that you don't want to get resistance. I have heard that baytril in conjunction with panacur works better than panacur alone.

5. How long do you treat the partner of an active EC bunny for, 9 days or 28days/6weeks? 28 days

6. I know there is now evidence that long term use of panacur has some long term side effects but will over use also cause the parasite to become resistent? I don't know, I would have thought that it is a strong possibility.

7. It is widely thought that stress such as operations including neuterings can trigger an active EC infection, so a course of panacur before hand where possible was considered a good idea. However if there is evidence that panacur can lower the immune systems response surely it is not a good idea to panacur routinely before an op. as this can leave a bunny open to an increase risk of infection :?Sooty first developed signs a few weeks after bonding. Either the stress brought it on or honey was a carrier & sooty was infected from her. It's difficult to say about treating as a preventative measure before an op, I'd probably leave a few weeks after worming before an op but that my own personal feeling not advice from vet.


I too think that you will never get the same answer from two vets. When sooty was first taken in the first vet said it couldn't possibly be EC as he still had full use of his legs :shock: He suggested that perhaps it was caused by a change in floor cleaner but treated fro UTI just in case.....second vet started him on panacur straight away.

One other thing I'm pretty sure of (both from reading and from experience), is that Panacur's effects in the body are short-lived.