HOOKWORMS : RABBITS AND I

Question
RECENTLY MY RABBITS AND I WERE BOTH SICK AND NO ONE KNEW WHY. I BOUGHT MY TWO RABBITS FOUR MONTHS EARLIER. I TOOK THEM TO THE VET AND FOUND OUT THEY HAD HOOKWORMS. WHEN IN THE END I HAD GOTTEN FORM THEM TOO. MY QUESTION IS NOW THAT THEY HAVE BEEN DEWORMED AFTER I GIVE THEM A BATH WILL THEY BE SAFE FOR ME TO HANDLE? THEY ARTE LITTER TRAINED BUT I CHANGED THERE CAGE SO THEY CANNOT LAY IN THERE LITTER PAN ANYMORE. IS THERE ANY PRECAUTIONS THAT I CAN TAKE TO MAKE SURE MY RABBITS AND I DONT GET SICK AGIAN. PLEASE HELP, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO FEEL SAFE HOLDING THEM AND NOT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING SICK.

Answer
Dear Shannon,

Wow.  It is *extremely* unusual for hookworms (Ancylostoma) to be transmitted between rabbits and humans.  To tell you the truth, I would not be convinced that this is the case.  It is more likely that both you and the rabbits contracted hookworms from the environment where an infected animal defecated and left eggs.  You cannot contract the parasites directly from the rabbits; the eggs must mature in the environment before they become infective.  And the nematode species that infect rabbits are generally NOT transmissible to humans, with the possible exception of pinworms (which are more commonly transmitted from humans to rabbits than the other way around).

In any case, if the rabbits have been treated, they should be safe for you to handle.  (Panacur is the usual treatment, and one dose of 20mg/kg followed by another dose 7-10 days later is usually the course of treatment.)

But truthfully, I would get these rabbits to another vet who is more experienced with rabbits for a full evaluation.  It is extremely unlikely that a rabbit hookworm could infect an otherwise healthy human being.  You're the wrong species.

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope this helps.

Dana