Contagious?

Question
A few days ago my 8month old mini-rex, Beatrix, died suddenly. She was fine until I noticed on Monday that she was hunched over, breathing/wheezing heavily, with her head pointed upwards and her mouth open. I could see no discharge around her eyes or nose. I immediately called the vet who scheduled me an appointment an hour later. At the vet, Beatrix's temperature was taken, to discover that it was at a low 98.7. Upon listening to her breathing, the vet concluded that there wasn't much wetness in the lungs. He also said that she was dehydrated. He said that we could either treat her for possible poisoning if she had gotten into anything or for a possible infection. I told him that I kept her in a very bunny-safe area, so he decided to treat it as a respiratory infection. He injected her with fluids to hydrate and gave me some medicine in about 8 mini syringes filled with a clear liquid(I honestly can't remember that name). He also told me to keep her warm at all times. Before we left, the assistant demonstrated how to administer the meds and sent us off. On the way home, Beatrix suddenly started freaking out (she had been mopey all day), lunging out of my arms. As we arrived home, I cradled her in my arms to keep her warm, but she suddenly went limp and a yellow-ish liquid trickled out of her mouth as she died.  
Was this a respiratory infection of some kind? Is it contagious? Also, I just received two 2month old baby buns and I'm wondering if I should be disinfecting the area Beatrix had played in. If it's contagious, should I take the 2 new buns to the vet?
Thanks in advance. :)

Answer
Dear Jessica,

I am so sorry about the tragic passing of Beatrix.  

From the description, this was a very bad case of pneumonia.  A rabbit who cannot breathe will almost always take up the position you describe:  breathing hard with nose in the air to keep her trachea as open as possible and the mouth open.
The yellowish liquid was very likely coming up from her lungs.  For this to happen, she was in the very late stages of the disease, and probably nothing could have been done to save her.

Strangely, rabbits with pneumonia often just do not exhibit obvious sounds of respiratory congestion upon auscultation (listening with a stethoscope).  Sometimes the only way to confirm the cause of death is via necropsy, but if you suspect the condition in time (which is not easy, since rabbits hide symptoms of pneumonia *incredibly* well until they are at death's door), chest radiographs will often reveal congestion that can be treated with aggressive nebulization.

But in poor Beatrix's case, it was probably just too late to save her.  I am so sorry.

The seizure you describe just before she died is typical of a rabbit who is about to pass over the bridge, and it's called "going agonal."  Most rabbits die this way, and it's not uncommon in other species.  It's not a nice thing to observe, and I'm sorry.

I hope you can take some comfort in knowing that she is not suffering any more.  The condition is *not* likely to be contagious, and if she has been in contact with any other rabbits, they have already been exposed.  Not only to respiratory pathogens NOT travel readily between rabbits, but very mild exposure can actually act as a natural vaccine, protecting the babies from the bacterium in the future.

If you want to know what the bacteria were that caused Beatrix's death, then the vet should do a necropsy including culture and sensitivity of the lung tissue.  But at this point, it would pretty much be just for your own closure.

I am sorry about your loss, and hope you'll accept my condolences.

Sincerely,

Dana