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EC - passed to humans?

Hi one of our bunnies has developed a cateract (almost over night) and although she isn't showing any other symptons our vet is treating her with Panacur as a precaution incase she has EC.

One thing I forgot to ask the vet is that is it possible to pass on this to humans? My husband and children have low immunity due to a blood disease so we would need to be careful if this is the case. I have tried looking on google for the answer and I'm finding conflicting results, what would be the site to trust?

Also the Panacur we have is in a syringe with sections that you have to push in one dose at a time, any tips on using this as I'm worried I'm going to overdose her with more than one push of the syringe.

Thanks.
 
I believe that, yes it can, but the chances of it doing so are exceptionally slim. It is transferred by urine so therefore, if those you are worried about, stay away from the urine, it should be fine :)

My brother is immuno-suppressed and we have 17 bunnies here at the mo, most would likely test positive for EC (like most bunnies) and he has never had a problem, if that helps :)
 
Yes, that's my understanding too. Ensure you always wear gloves when doing any bunny cleans as a precaution.
 
This has just happened to me with my Minky, both her eyes are now affected, no glaucoma yet we don't think just severe iritis which is not responding to treatment, but it happened to one eye over night :( and blood tests show kidney damage, most likely due to EC (just had EC blood test today so have to wait a week for results!) She is on maxitrol eye drops, 2 types of antibiotic and pain relief. Our vet (who is a bunny specialist) says she finds treating the EC with panacur/lapizole doesn't work so she doesn't bother, it doesn't hurt them to treat them but she thinks the treatment is not that effective.

I don't know about the transfer to humans, but mega vibes for your little one that nothing else gets affected by the EC (if it is EC)
I have only ever used Lapizole not Panacur so no advice there either, but maybe try squidging it onto a piece of veg?
 
EC can theoretically be passed to people who are immune suppressed but not in the exact form it takes in buns (ie the human will not get the liver/neurological issues).

Typical warnings would be for people on chemotherapy, HIV, etc although my understanding is still that the chances of anything happening are slim.

I have Hepatitis C and have had EC buns and nursed them, taking no precautions at all, and have never had any problems. Blackberry was born with EC and was with us for 5 years in close contact with me.

It would be worth discussing with an experienced vet the exact nature of the problems at home - at the recent Rabbit Welfare Association conference a paper was given on EC which commented on this - if you are concerned then you should get your vet to contact the vet that gave the paper.
 
This has just happened to me with my Minky, both her eyes are now affected, no glaucoma yet we don't think just severe iritis which is not responding to treatment, but it happened to one eye over night :( and blood tests show kidney damage, most likely due to EC (just had EC blood test today so have to wait a week for results!) She is on maxitrol eye drops, 2 types of antibiotic and pain relief. Our vet (who is a bunny specialist) says she finds treating the EC with panacur/lapizole doesn't work so she doesn't bother, it doesn't hurt them to treat them but she thinks the treatment is not that effective.

I don't know about the transfer to humans, but mega vibes for your little one that nothing else gets affected by the EC (if it is EC)
I have only ever used Lapizole not Panacur so no advice there either, but maybe try squidging it onto a piece of veg?

Aw thats sad having it in both eyes, (our vet has said this could happen however) how is your bunny coping with it? Lola's eyes aren't red or sore at all just this white disc which has appeared so I don't think she has iritis? going to look it up as I'm not sure what it exactly is.

I believe that, yes it can, but the chances of it doing so are exceptionally slim. It is transferred by urine so therefore, if those you are worried about, stay away from the urine, it should be fine :)

My brother is immuno-suppressed and we have 17 bunnies here at the mo, most would likely test positive for EC (like most bunnies) and he has never had a problem, if that helps :)


Thanks for that it's reassuring to know.

Thanks for the other replies, I can only multiquote two for some reason, but it's great to hear of some information and good ideas. Hoping that Lola continues to be ok and shows no other signs, she's loving all the extra attention of course!
 
Aw thats sad having it in both eyes, (our vet has said this could happen however) how is your bunny coping with it? Lola's eyes aren't red or sore at all just this white disc which has appeared so I don't think she has iritis? going to look it up as I'm not sure what it exactly is.

Minky has blue eyes and I noticed one of them had changed colour and was really dark blue and the pupil distorted and slightly clouded. The other one is still normal colour but the pupil is incredibly slow to react to the light now and stays massive even in bright light :(
She seems to be coping fine though, is her normal naughty self! Thank goodness, if that was me I would be moping around the house.

Don't think Iritis in your case, but could be wrong as it may manifest itself in other ways?
 
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