I really need some ideas.

[woahlookitsme]

I am scared that I will not really get any answers from the necropsy I am patiently waiting for my friend to email me with the results. I will ask Dr. Taylor about what you suggested depending on what the results say. Thank you for suggestions! We bleached and sprayed vanodine on the cages with the affected bunnies in them. Serena is still doing okay and acting herself. My mom started sulmet (corid or sulfa drug) in the water today for cocci treatment just in case.

 

[woahlookitsme]

Ok. Necropsy came back. I will type the parts that something not normal was noted
External Exam: The hair of the peri-anal area is slightly matted, but does not appear to be stained with feces. The rabbit is in moderate flesh and moderately dehydrated.

Digestive System: There is general autolysis of the GI tract. The stomach is filled with a large amount of dark green vegetable ingesta. Upon opening the stomach, the entire mucousa is sloughed off. The small intestine contains a small amount of green chyme. The content of the large intestine is watery and green. There are no feces in the rectum. The liver is unremarkable.

Urogenital System: The kidneys are grossly normal. There is about 1.5cc of brownish urine in the urinary bladder.

Diagnosis/Comments: Enterocolitis (tentative)
The gross diagnosis of enterocolitis is based on the presence of watery content in the large intestine. The diagnosis needs to be corroborated by histologic exam(pending). The cause is undetermined. Results of the histologic examination of tissues will be communicated in a separate report. No other tests were requested.

 

[tonyshuman]

Thanks for posting the results. Sounds pretty clear to be enteritis to me, although it wasn't the mucoid kind. Since the problems were present all the way up in the stomach, maybe something set off the stomach pH? If the stomach pH got way out of whack, it could cause the damage described and lead to some of the problems further down the GI tract. In the intestines, pH is mostly controlled by bacteria, and young bunnies have a problem having the right bacteria and enough of the right bacteria.

 

[woahlookitsme]

Oh my gosh! The histopath came back pointing to E.cuniculi!! I will type the results but this is not something I needed right before my Organic chemistry midterm

 

[majorv]

From what I've read we may never figure out what caused the enteritis. A consult with a knowledgeable vet could tell us if the EC cells they found were enough to cause future problems. I know many rabbits are already exposed to it but never show symptoms...

 

[tonyshuman]

Unless the findings were "extensive" EC or something to that effect, I would not expect it was the cause of his death, nor would I worry about your other bunnies. Most rabbits have been exposed to EC and carry the parasite at low levels. We had a bun that was taken in by a rescue at a very young age (4 months?), then we adopted him at 6mo. Soon after we had his blood work done for a neuter, and they also did an EC titer. It was positive, although as far as we know he had never been exposed to a bunny with an active EC infection. Your bun also didn't show the symptoms of an active EC infection. If you are concerned about it being in your rabbitry, I would say that it is already there. Only a few rabbit colonies have EC-negative bunnies (and they are suppliers of lab animals).

 

[woahlookitsme]

there was actual affected tissue found in the CNS. I will type up the report when I return from Ochem lab.

 

[missyscove]

there was actual affected tissue found in the CNS. I will type up the report when I return from Ochem lab.

Sadly I'm sure that will be after I take the neuropathology portion of my practical exam, this thread is probably the only one on the forum that I can claim is relevant to my studying. If only there were more rabbits in our curriculum.

 

[woahlookitsme]

Well hopefully I will be in vet school soon it's sad that I already have case studies but Christina I would love if you kept checking this thread. I know you are only just studying but any thoughts would help me at this point. Who knows maybe you have a secret prof interested in rabbits lol

 

[JBun]

Did the findings show any specific bacteria or parasite as the cause of the enteritis? Or was EC the only thing? No e. coli or cocci?

 

[woahlookitsme]

Well. Here is the Histopathology Report
Brain Cortex: There are a few, small, discrete areas of gliosis and infiltration of glitter cells in the gray matter. Small numbers of lymphocytes are found in the peri-vascular space of some blood vessels.
Kidney: There are few, small, discrete areas of necrosis and infiltration of heretophils in the interstitium. There is congestion of the medulla.
Lung: There are focal, discrete areas of mild infiltration of macrophages and lymphocytes.
Trachea: There is congestion
Liver: Small numbers of lymphocytes are found in some portal areas.
Cerebellum, Heart, Esophagus, Adrenal, Urinary Bladder: No significant lesions
Stomach, Small Intestine, Large Intestine: There is advanced autolysis of the mucosa.

Histophathologic diagnosis:
Brain cortex: Subacute, multifocal, mild to moderate, non-suppurative and granulomatous encephalitis
Kidney: Subacute to chronic, multifocal, mild to moderate, interstitial nephritis
Lung: Subacute to chronic, multifocal, mild to moderate, granulomatous pneumonia

Comments: The inflammatory lesions in the brain, kidney, and lung are suggestive of infection with E. cuniculi. Special stains have been requested to try to demonstrate intralesional organisms. Results will be communicated in an addendum. Coccidia were not found in the sections of intestine examined. The sections of intestine exhibit advanced autolysis. Concurrent enteritis cannot be completely ruled out.

There is one more test pending. Which is "Special Stains-histopath, histochemical stains" I seriously can't even believe they are looking at Dino. I never even knew he had so much wrong with him I feel like such a bad bunny mom for not knowing. I mean pneumonia?!?! What the hell I never even heard congestion when I held him. I have made an appointment with our rabbit doctor Monday at 12. Me and my mom are going to go and bring the report. I honestly don't know what to do now. . .I am scared to see what the stains say

 

[missyscove]

Clarification: does it really say glitter cells in the grey matter (vs. Gitter cells)?

It sounds to me like theyre using a different stain to look for EC within the lesions. Basically the lesions look like EC but if they can see the EC there they'll be able to assume that that's what caused it. There are a lot of different stains used in histology to look at a variety of different cells (sort of like you may be familiar with gram staining bacteria).

As prey animals rabbits do hide disease well. I don't suppose anyone ever ausculted his lungs while he was alive? Since Cricket has her upper respiratory issues I've been ausculting her pretty regulalry to make sure she doesn't end up with pneumonia.

 

[woahlookitsme]

LOL i misread yes it says gitter cells

no. I do have a stethoscope but I never felt the need to listen to his lungs because I had no idea he had any indication of pneumonia. We have had a rabbit with it. I never saw snot, discharge, or him sneezing. Unless my mom did I was oblivious to it

 

[JBun]

All that technical terminology is a little over my head. Are the tests saying he died from the EC and/or pneumonia, or is it inconclusive?

 

[woahlookitsme]

It is over mine a little bit too I was hoping christina or geoff could make a little sense of it in lamens terms. I was able to look up the diagnostics and it made me feel so bad for dino. . . I am still pending some results so diagnosis is not fully clear yet. They are suggesting that from the lesions in the brain, kidneys, and lungs that EC is a possibility. The problem I am having is I have dealt with EC before with another Tan Juliet. She was paralyzed and took a few weeks for us to do tests and then we put her down and did a necropsy. She also had lesions in her brain and her EC titer was positive. I just dont understand how totally two different scenarios can point to EC. I officially hate EC and I really wish there was more research on it. . .

 

[JBun]

I'm with you! I hate it too. I had a rabbit die from it and it was horrible. It's one of those diseases/sicknesses that I really dread. I'm feeling a bit confused cause it seemed to me that Dino's symptoms pointed to some sort of bacteria and GI problem. I would have never guessed EC, if that does turn out to be the cause.

 

[woahlookitsme]

It definitely took me by surprise! I will post up the staining results soon and update on our trip to see the Doc. I really hope I dont have to deal with this again but i highly doubt it. Maybe there is something we can change in our husbandry to avoid this problem and I hope dr. taylor has some ideas lol.

 

[tonyshuman]

It may be hard to tell what caused what here. The EC could have caused a GI upset by reducing the ability of the immune system to keep the bacterial balance right, which caused the GI problems mentioned and led to his death. EC can put a strain on the immune system. Similarly, a GI imbalance could have caused immune system strain, which led to EC being more successful at causing the problems in his lungs, kidney and brain. Finally, the lesions in the lungs, kidney, and brain could be indicators of systemic toxicity caused by the bad bacteria in his GI tract--not EC. That's why they want to stain for EC. The damage to his GI system sounds pretty extensive and could have lead to his death in itself. EC is a more chronic, less stressful disease that leads to overall weakness and usually death because of a compromised immune system that permits infections that would otherwise not succeed to take hold. So, it could be primary cause of death: bacterial enteritis resulting from reduced immune function because of EC infection.

 

[woahlookitsme]

I just can't believe that all of this happened in such a short amount of time. I know rabbits hide disease and pain well but I didnt know they hid it that well. I mean he won Best of Breed at a show that weekend right before he got sick. And was dead in a matter of 12 hours between decreased appetite to death. It was just so sudden and I am still in shock. He never stopped acting like himself until the day right before. .

 

[majorv]

What I can't figure out is the connection between Dino's symptoms/death and my Polish from the week before...same exact symptoms/death, but they had nothing in common, except we had just separated them from their mothers because they were male. The brother of the Polish who died is still fine and he was in the same cage as his brother at the time, separated by a wire divider.