Ecc

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Saltflower

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I need to know if ECC is fatal. Some websites say yes, others no. My 11 year-old Dwarf French Hotot died after losing the use of his legs. Euthanesia. My youngest rabbit developed ECC in April and was on Panicure. In June my beloved 11 year-old became weak, then couldn't use his legs. I let him go to the Lord on the third day. I am in AGONY. Did the new one's ECC kill my beloved? I suspect that the vet doesn't want me know the truth. Somebody please help me to understand. My beloved child's name is Saltflower. That's why I'm honoring him with this user name.
 
You've had a tough time with EC! It's hard to predict e.cuniculi because it can affect various systems. There's still a lot they don't know about it. It can be fatal, but sometimes it can be controlled. It isn't easily spread to other rabbits if they're kept separate...and it helps if the rabbit has a strong immune system.

Our experience with EC has not been good. We ended up having ours put down when what started with hind limb paralysis spread to affect the kidneys.
 
I am so so sorry for your loss. . .

Here's what I know about EC.

The thing about EC is that most rabbits from either not good breeders or shelters (and even some GREAT breeders!) have it. In fact, I can ALMOST guarantee both mine do (one was in a hording cruelty case and so I'm sure the other has it just by proximity- it is transmitted through the urine and I know he's been around her urine). But with EC, a rabbit with a normal and healthy immune system shouldn't have symptoms (I think some have a genetic predisposition to a weaker immunity against parasites, including EC, so some otherwise healthy rabbits can have it, although this is more rare). Because your rabbit was 11, he might have had issues such as renal disease, liver disease, just a lack of immunity due to age (note none of these are preventable or indicative of being a bad owner or not noticing anything- these things happen because they are alive and using those organs constantly). These (and many other things) can reduce immunity to the point where a latent infection of EC then 'flares up' and can lead to death.

Now, technically the vet cannot say yes it was the EC, because it could have been something else and he just tests positive for EC antibodies. It really could have been something else completely unrelated. For example my last rabbit who passed had EC, tested positive, but died due to septicemia from a perforated gut (basically bad luck- perforated guts often happen without any symptoms/complications in all species) in combination with chronic kidney disease. So the chronic kidney disease (and age) lowered his immune system enough that EC and septicemia could have killed him, it just happened to be the septicemia which ultimately lead to his death.
 
Just a question, were blood titers done in your rabbits to check for EC? A titer should be done 2-3 weeks apart. The only way to know for sure how advanced EC was in your rabbit is thru a necropsy after they passed.
 
On my own or the original poster?

In my case, my rabbit had both EC titers when alive, but much younger and about six months before he passed, and a full necrospy (with histology on every organ, cultures, etc.). In my rabbit's case, his organs and blood were full of a gram negative rod shaped bacteria (we decided not to go so far as to identify down to species because it had taken long enough to culture that it seemed the infection risk to my (healthy, young) female was quite low).
 

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