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encephalitozoon cuniculi in rabbits....

HCB

Warren Scout
Hi everyone.

I was just wondering if any of you have rabbits with e.c? And if they ever recover?

I was just looking up the symtoms out of curiosity, and im wondering if my buns mystery illness could be a mild case, or the start...

Back in january she stopped eating, i thought ut was her teeth, they checked them out and even did the op just in case, but nothing. Had blood tests and came back with elevated liver and kidney functions, and her muscles were being 'eaten'. I didnt really get any advice though, just to take her back if she still wont eat, and that the muscle eating could be as she isnt eating so shes using her reserves.

Then in, ooh end of feb/early march, her right front paw wasnt right, she held it up, i thought she hurt it, took her to the vets and found it was paralyised. Did testsm found nothing, so put her on metacam for 4 weeks then 2 weeks weaning off. In that time she learnt to stand and walk on it, which she can still do now, she runs around fine, but the very bottom doesnt look like it has feeling, its spayed out and she cant clean herself, but her nails still grow which is apparently good.

Now, she was in obvious pain tuesday night when i touched her back end. Took her to the vets, they checked her out (she didnt freak out as much), but they found a sore spot, around her muscles and near her bladder. She was given a blood test, but we havnt got the results back yet. Shes on metacam for now...Took her back yesterday as she had a bit of blood in her urine, it was a different vet and she said its probably cystitus, so gave her baytril and said theyd know more when the results come back.

Anyway, when i was researching, it says about liver and kidney disease, and loss of function in the legs. I know these are only two of the symptoms, but it seems to be the only thing that fits, although she doesnt have any other symtoms so im really not sure.

Would the symtoms come on so slowly, and would she even be alive with no treatment for it since the onset in january? If you have any other ideas as to what it could be, feel free to share, as im puzzled, as are the vets! Thanks for your help!
 
This is interesting.

Sorry to hear your bun has a mystery illness, I'm sure someone will be along soon to give you some advice and ideas.

I don't have any experience of EC but do know that it seems it can accect a bun in many different ways.

Hope you get to the bottom of this one soon.
 
One of my rabbits died of EC, but not before he had survived three seperate instances of symptoms (over a 6 month period). His EC seemed to affect his eyes and nervous system more than liver/kidneys as he was always blind after each attack and had lost the use of his back legs. With some anti inflammatory and a dose of Panacur each time he recovered well and seemed to regain most if not all use of his eyes and back legs. The third time was different though and after a few hours of struggling passed away. I don't think this really helps you all that much other than to say a bunny can survive EC. One thing I have learnt since is that it is thought that a 28 day session of Panacur is better in these instances than 9 days. My vet didnt offer this suggestion at the time and perhaps if they had things might have been different as Minstrel only ever had the 9 days. I hope you find out what is wrong with your bun and that she gets better soon! xx
 
Hi There,

My late bun Buster who died in Feb this year had E.C. She first showed signs back in 2003 when she was just 10 months old and started running in circles and falling over and was also off her food. I rang the emergency vet at the time and to be honest I didn't know that much about rabbits then and didn't have a clue what could be wrong with her. The vet who was obviously very rabbit savy said she could have E.Cuniculi, I remember saying "whats that? Ive never heard of it". and she said it was a pretty newly discovered disease which in 2003 it was, and that a blood test would confirm it and to bring her in in the morning. I took her in and they took blood, I'll never forget a few days later when i got the results and it was confirmed E.C, I was heartbroken. The vet said I had 2 choices, have her put to sleep or try some panacur, she said the outlook wasn't good for rabbits with E.C and they didn't know much about it. I immediately said i wanted to try with buster, so she put her on panacur and a course of baytril, she picked up within a few weeks, but i did have to give her panacur every few months otherwise she'd lose her balance. She lived till 6 and a half and also came through uterine cancer last year. She died of a stroke in feb which may have been related to E.C we'll never know but she had a very happy life and i miss her so much it hurts, she was my best friend in the world.
That vet has since left and another very bunny savy vet replaced her who see's my current buns, but thanks to that vet Buster got to have a life that could have easily been taken from her, I don't think alot of vets in 2003 knew much, if anything about E.C.
 
He doesnt have the head tilt though, just a droopy face but it has attacked his liver enzymes :cry: things are not looking good.. he has no white blood cells either :(
 
I have 2 EC buns and touch wood, they are both doing well at the moment. They are without doubt higher maintenance than the others, but, they have got through some quite extreme symptoms over the last 3 years.

Noah had the most dramatic symptoms, with head tilt, falling over and walking in circles because of the tilt. He has no noticeable tilt now but can not hold onto his weight very well and will roller coaster up and down, he has spent the last 2 winters indoors, so I could feed him separately and watch him, as i wasn't happy he had enough resources to cope with the cold weather. Dandelion has more neurological problems and has very strange behaviour but She is a good weight and eats well.
I think the problem with EC is that I don't think it is fully understood and it can produce a very wide range of differing symptoms. I really hope your bun gets better soon and the blood tests help identify the problem.:)
 
He doesnt have the head tilt though, just a droopy face but it has attacked his liver enzymes :cry: things are not looking good.. he has no white blood cells either :(

Aww im really sorry to hear that!

Well i got the blood tests back yesterday that the vet took to check liver and kidney, and livers perfectly normal now, and kidneys only VERY slightly elevated. So i may have been jumping the gun thinking it could be this. I just thought 3 instances of random unknown illnesses couldnt just be coincidence!

Iv heard the blood test for e.c is different to a regular blood test, so on monday (my vet told me to phone back and then maybe bring her in if no improvement), i may ask about it, just to be doubley sure. Shes on metacam at the moment, but no panacur, but it might be worth me getting that (iv never wormed my buns as i didnt know you had to, so i guess now would be a good time to start!)
 
Yep, we lost one to it....it did this to her....

Picture001-4.jpg


We lost her eventually.:cry:

Lucky recovered from it but passed it to his sister Hazel who is still battling very hard against it.

Testing for EC, a lot of people think it's a waste of time because many buns test positive for it anyway whether they are suffering an active infection of not
 
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Do you know how easily it spreads to other buns? Iv got 2 other buns, not kept with my ill one but in the same shed, and they have met before...should i just give them the 9 day dose or should i give them a 28 day dose too?

Ill order some pancur online tonight, then on monday pop to my vets to get one (i think they sell it) so i can dose her asap! My buns just going to love me, forcing more stuff down her throat!:lol:

Shes on metacam and baytril at the moment anyway as the vet suspected cystitis. NLENG2000, you said your bun was on an anti-anflammatory, how long was it on this?

When my bun got the paralised paw she was put on metacam and thats when she improved, She was on it just over 4 weeks then weaned off slowly so a total of just under 6 weeks, and shes been off it for a while now with no change (until now obviously), they didnt give any treatment for the spell in january and that fixed itself...

Aww Gem, your poor bun!

So with the ec...the metacam, baytril and pancur should help without any other medicines, is this right? Ill obviously discuss this possibility with my vet, but none of the 3 vets iv seen have suspected e.c, maybe as her symptoms dont fit it as well, as i said i thought it could be a possibility but she doesnt seem to have as many symptoms as others, or as severe. Thanks for all your posts guys, its really helpful!:love:
 
I'm sorry to hear about your poorly bun.

My bun Tippex Porkychicken became completely paralysed with e.c. suddenly but recovered fully after about 5 days. It just depends how much damage has been done to the brain and other organs, and whether the brain can find new pathways around the damaged areas.
With my girl she was given a one off steroid injection to reduce the inflammation in the brain, but the use of steroids is very risky and controversial and is usually only given as a last resort. She was then treated with panacur and septrin, and give i.v. fluids and supportive treatment.

As for how easily it is passed to other rabbits, it is passed in the urine so steps must be taken to avoid contamination of food and water with urine. It can survive for several weeks in the environment. It can also be passed from mother to baby. There a several threads on this already which go into great detail.

Over half of pet rabbits are said to be already infected and most will probably not have any problems but in susceptable rabbits anything that causes stress can trigger symptoms.
 
Ok, if its only through urine i should be ok, theres no way urine from her cage/run can get into the other buns, unless via air spores....ill always clean the other buns out first then her and disinfect the cleaning stuff just to be safe!

Well I cant think of any trigger for these 3 episodes...she is a dental bun which is normally every 7 months like clockwork, she had it done last in october, and the first episode of illness wasnt until january...she is getting on a bit, shes 7, but other than her teeth and now these illnesses since january shes been perfectly healthy, and can outrun anyone, try putting her back in her cage before she wants to when shes in the garden and youv got no chance! :lol:

As i said at the start i really dont know if it could be e.c as most other buns seem to get the symptoms more severe than she has, it was just something i found that i thought might fit (although this last spell i though could be her kidneys packing it, but got blood tests back and theyre only VERY slightly higher, compared to january where they were double), but im not sure now.

Ill definately discuss it with my vet as a possibility though, and ill give her the panucur anyway as shes never been wormed :)oops:). Thanks everyone
 
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