EMERGENCY!!! PLEASE HELP.RIP-Thumper

[ani-lover]

hey randy, or someone,
what is vhd, rcd, rhd
(viral hemorragic disease)
i was just researching sudden death illnesses and was wondering what exactly is it and what does it do?

i understand that it is a highly contagious viral disease that kills a rabbit in 24hours

What are the symptoms?
Infected rabbits may have any of the following symptoms: fever, loss of appetite, congestion, foamy discharge from the nostrils, lethargy, muscle spasms, and bleeding from one or more orifices. However, in some cases no symptoms are evident until death.

i know thats a little extreme but just wanted to know exactly what it is.

 

[ani-lover]

also, to use this cage again it has to be sanatized,
what would i use to sanatize it and the bottle and the bowl and the litter box

 

[Pipp]

Hi Ani-Lover, sorry I missed the results of Tabby's necropsy.

I'd guess that Thumper had an abscess that released toxins into his bloodstream and shut down his organs like Claire said.

If he blew a lot of pus out of his nose just once, that was likely the abscess breaking. But it probably wasn't sensitive to the Baytril. Elongated tooth roots are common in older bunnies and its hard to catch tooth root abscesses until they do invade another area like the nasal passage or present as a lump somewhere.

No chance it was VHD or anything like that.

I think Tabby and Thumper's problems were unrelated and just the luck of the draw.

So sorry.


sas ink iris:

 

[Pipp]

You can use a mild bleach solution to wash everything down, just rinse it really well. Probably a good idea although as noted, unlikely it was anything communicable.


sas :expressionless

 

[ra7751]

VHD is very isolated in the US. And it causesa massive bleed out....like eating a rodenticide. There have only been a handful of outbreaks in the US....the last being some time ago in Indiana if I remember correctly. One of the signs of VHD is bloody discharge from the mouth and nose. It is a fast acting virus that nothing can be done for.

I agree with your vet that a necropsy might not show the problem. And most techs at the labs aren't that familar with rabbits....been there, done that.

This might be a little difficult....and I apologize if it is.....but I suspect this wasn't as quick of an onset as you might think. Rabbits hide things very well. I had a vision in my mind when I read your post and have seen it before. I highly suspect the issue was either toxins from the gut (possible from the Baytril) or the infection, whatever it was, turned septic. And to give you an idea of how fast things can do downhill....I went by a cottontail (prepping for release) that was sitting on top of his hidey house chewing on hay....came by him again in less than 5 minutes and he was agonal and on his side. Didn't make it.

As far as the trans-dermal Baytril....I don't care for Baytril in rabbits and the experiences I have seen so far leads me to have some concerns with the absorbing of this drug. I'mjust not sold on trans-dermal drugs for rabbits. And if the infection were Pasteurella, Baytril isn't very effective at all....Zithromax is the drug of choice....for now anyway.

And I am very sorry for your loss. It's never easy.

Randy

 

[ani-lover]

thank you for your responses.

pipp- to inform you about the results of tabbys necropsy. i was convinced by many hours of research that it was indeed e. cuniculi the vet wasnt totally sure as none of the treatments were working as we didnt know but it had crossed the brain barrier. the results that came back about three weeks later was the brain and it was indeed e cuniculi.
and thanks i will clean that cage tomorrow

randy, thank you for tellingme about your thoughts on baytril and telling me what vhd is.

i never thought that tabby and thumpers illnesses were related and do not believe that they could've been as tabby has been gone about a year i think.

 

[DeniseJP]

I am sorry to hear about Thumper...:rainbow:

I hope that you will find a new bunny to love soon.:hug:

Denise

 

[ra7751]

Just wanted to comment on Tabby's necropsy. Every domestic rabbit will show EC. The parasite does cross the blood/brain barrier. It depends on what stage it's in as to presentations. It does damage when it sets up shop and reproduces. EC itself is not fatal but the secondary issues it causes are.Bacterial infections are common in rabbits with acute EC. They are rovers...you address an ear infection, it might move to the eyes, upper respiratory, kidneys and so forth. The infections are due to the stressed immune system. The spores that are shed from the EC will pit and damage the kidneys. The majority of rabbits we have lost here that had acute EC was due to renal failure.

The traditional treatment for EC has been some of the horse dewormers....primarily one of the "bendazoles". Fenbendazole (Panacur or Safeguard) is the most often used drug. It is normally dosed for 28 consecutive days....we have done 60. Fact is, this drug has a difficult and sometimes impossible task to penetrate the blood/brain barrier. Our most recent successes in halting the progression of EC has been another horse drug. This drug is used to treat a very closely related protozoan agent ina horse....Equine Protozoal Myelpencephalitis (EPM). The drug is Ponazuril and is marketed by Bayer under the brand name of Marquis.

But again, EC itself is not terminal....it's all the "tag along" stuff.

Randy

 

[Niomi]

So sorry about your loss. Thanks for sharing your experience.