Hi,
I have dealt with EC quite a bit. I do have a couple of questions and comments. First, meclizine and panacur don't go together. There is more to what is going on withyour rabbit. Meclizine is a drug used for nausea/vertigo and is the active ingredient in motion sickness drugs like Bonine and Dramamine. It is used in all species to help with vertigo related tovestibular infections/issues but it is not effective in all rabbits. Panacur is a wormer. You mentioned spinning. EC does not cause a rabbit to spin nor does it cause head tilt. EC can't be properly diagnosed only with one titer even though a "high positive" is almost a certainty. It takes a series of titers over a set period of time to get a suggestive diagnosis. Nearly every domestic rabbit will titer positive for EC and nearly all carry it subclinically. The only real confirmation of EC is post mortem...and that is an undesirable situation. Honestly, I diagnose EC based on presentable symptoms which is nearly always some degree of paresis of the left rear leg and some degree of urinary incontenance with a concentrated and crystal filled urine as the protozoan spores shed. A neubilizer is quite effective for respiratory infections/issues and can be used to administer oxygen and/or medications directly into the lungs. Which leads me back to the fact that there is more here than EC.
I am not a vet...but I think your vet has probably missed something here. A bunny that spins usually has an ear infection and even that can be secondary to a dental issue. It is most likely due to an opportunistic bacteria allowed toshow itself due to a compromised immune system caused by the EC. A culture of those ears should be done immediately. Untreated ear infections can cause irreversable head tilt and/or deafness and can migrate to the brain stem....I have one of those here. With a rabbit with active EC, you will be chasing roving bacterial infections since the immune system is so overwhelmed by the EC. If a culture shows no growth and we know by presentation that we have a likely bacterial infection, we assume pasteurella and treat with aggressive antibiotics...baytril and sulfanomides are not considered for treatment in this situation. For years we have assumed most infections in rabbits to be from pasteurella. Couple of problems there.....pasteurella is rapidly becoming resistant to the two drugs I mentioned above and the top exotic vets have stopped using them. Second, we can't reallyassume pasteurella these days as we have seen pathogens recently that we have never seen before in a rabbit....kinda scary. A culture is very important.
If your rabbit does in fact have active EC, you should insist your vet do a complete CBC to use as a base line for future treatment. Pay close attention to and chart renal values. EC will eventually cause the normal neurological issues with the hind quarter....nearly always paresis in the left rear. But what most vets and people don't know and don't respond to is the tremendous damage to the kidneys. Support the kidneys in every way possible. The shedding spores of the EC will pit and scar the kidneys and will start causing a decline in their efficiency. Being able to support the renal system with supplemental fluids, either sub-q or IV, will be essential down the road. Renal failure is imminent in EC rabbits.
Panacur, or any of the "bendazole" family of drugs, is the normal method of treating EC. I have run protocols of more than 60 consecutive days. The effectiveness of this family of drugs has been disappointing overall. This is due mainly to the fact that the drug has an almost impossible task of penetrating the blood/brain barrier. The idea of such a long protocol is nothing more than hoping that some of the drug will get thru. I have been testing a different drug that is used to treat Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) in horses. It is a similar condition and the protozoa that causes them are closely related. Marquis (Ponazuril) easily penetrates the blood/brain barrier in horses...andhorses and rabbits are treatedalike. So the hope is there. You might ask your vet to check the "VIN" (he/she should have access to this forum) and search for infomation on using Marquis against EC. Our experience here with all the drugs except Marquis is that they are pretty much ineffective. But...we have had much more success in controlling EC by doing everything we can to support the rabbit's immune system....make things as easy for them as possible. Contrary to popular belief, coccidia (also a protozoa like EC) can't be killed by a drug. While the drugs helps, it's the rabbit's own immune system that controls these protozoan monsters.
I know this sounds overwhelming but it is not all gloom and doom. It is quite possible for your rabbit to use it's own immune system, along with your extra TLC and expert medical attention, to put this into remission...I call it "puuting the genie back into the bottle". If you look in our blog, you will read Yoda's story. He fought a long and hard battle against EC...for a couple of years. We gave him lots of extra TLC....we gave him every reason to want to live and to fight....and fight he did. We managed to give him a good life for a very long time after he became almost totally paralyzed in his rear end. We made new protocols and strategies to help him. And on the night we lost him to acute renal failure, he allowed me the ultimate honor and he thanked me for all we did for him. Give your rabbit every reason to want to live and fight.
Feel free to ask any questions. EC is a very misunderstood issue. We have a lot to learn about treating it but things are much better than just a couple of years ago. I have a personal vendetta against EC as it took my precious little girl...the namesake of our rescue...Sabrina. Back then, we didn't know what it was that took her from me after only three years. I know now. Like I said, it's personal between EC and me.
Randy
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