Part 2
Richard Saunders BSc(Hons), BVSC CBiol MiBiol DZooMed (Mammalian) MRCVS
Senior Clinical Training Scholar in Rabbit & Zoo Animal Medicine Bristol Zoo Gardens RWA/F Veterinary Resident.
Brainstorming E.Cuniculi. Are we tilting at windmills?
This was a very interesting talk, and seemed to be an update of what we now know versus what we knew a year ago and so on. I haven’t been to an RWAF conf before, but I got the feeling that ths is something that Richard does each year. Richard made no claims that we were much nearer to finding the right treatments, and that there is still a lot of ambiguity and trial/error in treating EC.
Again, I was listening to this a lot, because I don’t know a whole load about E.C., so these are just my jottings, which I’ve tried to formulate.
EC has more in common with Funghi
It’s Zoonotic – can affect humans with immune suppressing diseases, such as HIV
Diagnosis: Difficult.
Often a rabbit is just not quite right.
EC is not prevalent on wild rabbits
Test look for anti-body responses
In a study, 52% of domestic rabbits were seropositive (Showed a positive reaction to a test on blood serum for a disease).
At 4-6 weeks old, rabbits at their most vulnerable – eyes bulging/rupturing – kits in the womb can get this (cataracts). Kits can spread spores for 90 days after being born.
Tests:
Two test – IgM and IgG – IgM is relatively new. You can read more about these here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20153117
IgM antibody rises in 7 days, making a diagnosis about when rabbit should be treated with Panacur difficult
IgG indicates if the brain has been affected, and as this is usually when we see signs of EC (head tilt and dragging legs) – although neither of these are exclusive to EC
One test is no longer enough for a true diagnosis. Best testing is either IgG, twice, four weeks apart, or IgG and IgM together.
Signs:
Renal disease
Urine scolds
Neurological effect to hind end (dragging)
Head tilt. – This was interesting, he talked a fair bit about it – I didn’t realise that there are no neck muscle issues with head tilt. The rabbits brain is simply saying that ‘this’ is the right way up, so the head has moved accordingly – so they are seeing the right way up, just not looking like it. He said that head tilt shouldn’t be a reason to euthanise.
Diagnostic tests:
Kidney biopsy
Brain Biopsy (not possible on live rabbit – will kill it – used for PM only).
PCR (prominent chain reaction) using a DNA trace
Urine (not faeces) test
Head tilt – Skull X Ray
X-ray whole rabbit (spine)
CT Scan
MRI Scan
Drugs of choice:
Panacur – AT present, the only drug to support effects
Bone marrow suppression
Panacur – treatment and prevention doses are affected by your rabbit’s environment.
He found that the 28 day course did leave some rabbits still susceptible, but after 42 days, they were clean.
Metacam – Should be used, but in sever cases, there may be role for short term steroid use. – I got the impression from all the veterinary speakers that steroids for rabbits should be a lst resort, and can easily make a problem a lot worse.
Metoclopramide – it’s also an anti-nausious drug, used fr travel sickness in people, so can help with extreme cases of balance problems
Valium – to calm down a spinning rabbit.
Baytrill – EC creates immune suppression, and Baytill can help with this.
We talked about boarding and rescues. A rescue said that when she has a bun in for a bonding, and then the new pair go home, she recommends that both rabbits are given Panacur for 28 days afterwards. Frances H-B was sitting in on the talk, and agreed that this was a good idea, so did Richard.
If the rabbit in boarding is sharing grass space that other rabbits have used, this increases risk.
In hutch boarding, the hutch should be cleaned with Ethanol to clear infection.
The spores die in 4 weeks
Someone brough up that Lapizol and Panacur are not licensed for rabbits. Panacur is a brand name, that’s all. Owners who are treating regularly can ask for the non-brand version, for cats and dogs, that comes in a litre bottle, and is a lot cheaper.
How to rule out EC - X ray the skull
How to rule in EC IgG and IgM test
GOTO Part 3
Richard Saunders BSc(Hons), BVSC CBiol MiBiol DZooMed (Mammalian) MRCVS
Senior Clinical Training Scholar in Rabbit & Zoo Animal Medicine Bristol Zoo Gardens RWA/F Veterinary Resident.
Brainstorming E.Cuniculi. Are we tilting at windmills?
This was a very interesting talk, and seemed to be an update of what we now know versus what we knew a year ago and so on. I haven’t been to an RWAF conf before, but I got the feeling that ths is something that Richard does each year. Richard made no claims that we were much nearer to finding the right treatments, and that there is still a lot of ambiguity and trial/error in treating EC.
Again, I was listening to this a lot, because I don’t know a whole load about E.C., so these are just my jottings, which I’ve tried to formulate.
EC has more in common with Funghi
It’s Zoonotic – can affect humans with immune suppressing diseases, such as HIV
Diagnosis: Difficult.
Often a rabbit is just not quite right.
EC is not prevalent on wild rabbits
Test look for anti-body responses
In a study, 52% of domestic rabbits were seropositive (Showed a positive reaction to a test on blood serum for a disease).
At 4-6 weeks old, rabbits at their most vulnerable – eyes bulging/rupturing – kits in the womb can get this (cataracts). Kits can spread spores for 90 days after being born.
Tests:
Two test – IgM and IgG – IgM is relatively new. You can read more about these here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20153117
IgM antibody rises in 7 days, making a diagnosis about when rabbit should be treated with Panacur difficult
IgG indicates if the brain has been affected, and as this is usually when we see signs of EC (head tilt and dragging legs) – although neither of these are exclusive to EC
One test is no longer enough for a true diagnosis. Best testing is either IgG, twice, four weeks apart, or IgG and IgM together.
Signs:
Renal disease
Urine scolds
Neurological effect to hind end (dragging)
Head tilt. – This was interesting, he talked a fair bit about it – I didn’t realise that there are no neck muscle issues with head tilt. The rabbits brain is simply saying that ‘this’ is the right way up, so the head has moved accordingly – so they are seeing the right way up, just not looking like it. He said that head tilt shouldn’t be a reason to euthanise.
Diagnostic tests:
Kidney biopsy
Brain Biopsy (not possible on live rabbit – will kill it – used for PM only).
PCR (prominent chain reaction) using a DNA trace
Urine (not faeces) test
Head tilt – Skull X Ray
X-ray whole rabbit (spine)
CT Scan
MRI Scan
Drugs of choice:
Panacur – AT present, the only drug to support effects
Bone marrow suppression
Panacur – treatment and prevention doses are affected by your rabbit’s environment.
He found that the 28 day course did leave some rabbits still susceptible, but after 42 days, they were clean.
Metacam – Should be used, but in sever cases, there may be role for short term steroid use. – I got the impression from all the veterinary speakers that steroids for rabbits should be a lst resort, and can easily make a problem a lot worse.
Metoclopramide – it’s also an anti-nausious drug, used fr travel sickness in people, so can help with extreme cases of balance problems
Valium – to calm down a spinning rabbit.
Baytrill – EC creates immune suppression, and Baytill can help with this.
We talked about boarding and rescues. A rescue said that when she has a bun in for a bonding, and then the new pair go home, she recommends that both rabbits are given Panacur for 28 days afterwards. Frances H-B was sitting in on the talk, and agreed that this was a good idea, so did Richard.
If the rabbit in boarding is sharing grass space that other rabbits have used, this increases risk.
In hutch boarding, the hutch should be cleaned with Ethanol to clear infection.
The spores die in 4 weeks
Someone brough up that Lapizol and Panacur are not licensed for rabbits. Panacur is a brand name, that’s all. Owners who are treating regularly can ask for the non-brand version, for cats and dogs, that comes in a litre bottle, and is a lot cheaper.
How to rule out EC - X ray the skull
How to rule in EC IgG and IgM test
GOTO Part 3
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