irritated gentital

Question
hi Dana,
I noticed that my 3 year old spayed bunny was cleaning her genitals vigorously. I brought her to her rabbit savvy vet and he said that her vaginal was irritated either by her doing or she could have a UTI brewing. He prescribed neo-predef powder and she was going back on zenequin anyway to combat the last bit of a scant pseudomonas growth in her nose. He said the zenequin would help her vagina issue if something is brewing. Now, someone said that even though she doesn't have classic signs she could have syphilis. They explained that even if she got it from her mom, it could not show symptoms for years? She has had no physical contact with any other bunny in 3 years.
as usual, I'm worried.
thanks
CC

Answer
Dear CC,

If your bunny had rabbit syphilis (Treponema cuniculi) and was showing signs enough to make her bite at herself, you'd very likely see lesions and sores around her genitals, nose, and lips.  Fortunately, this would be very treatable with injectable Penicillin-G Procaine for 10 days.  But this disease is not all that common, so unless you see lesions, I would not worry unduly.   Mention it to your vet and ask him to check for such sores, but again, don't worry.  It's very treatable and doesn't spread to the nervous system or other tissues, as it does in humans.  And it's not contagious to humans.

Hope the zeniquin clears things up for her.

Dana