Bunny medicine

Question
hi there

im trying to find out some information on Baytril, that we have been using for our bun cocobean. its a long story on why she has been on and off it, and it seems to be allergy to hay (of all things)  and in New Zealand (where i am) its not licensed to be used on bunnies.We just lucky we have a expert vet with bunnies (cant fault her)
any help would be apprecated.
thanks

Answer
Dear Darryl,

Baytril (enrofloxacin) is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic in the same class as drugs such as ciprofloxacin and marbofloxacin. The general mode of action of the fluoroquinolones is to interfere with the normal activity of an enzyme (in the bacteria causing the disease) known as topoisomerase or DNA gyrase.  In a nutshell, the antibiotic prevents the enzyme from unwinding the DNA when the bacteria make copies of it, so the DNA gets tied in a big knot when the bacteria try to reproduce...and this sort of kills them!  (more information than you probably wanted).

Baytril isn't licensed for use in rabbits anywhere, but it is widely used "off label" by many veterinarians, as it is safe for rabbits and effective against a wide variety of disease-causing bacteria.

If your bunny is still sneezing after being on Baytril long term, then please read the following two articles:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/culture.html

and

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sneezing.html

for more options.

I have never known a *confirmed* case of allergy in rabbits (though it's possible).  Usually, chronic sneezing can be attributed to a bacterial or mechanical problem that might need a bit of extra detective work.

I hope this helps.

Dana