Hi,Well it is me again but...

Question
Hi,Well it is me again but first I must tell you how I apreciate the help and advise you gave about Bugsy a mo. or 2 ago he is now healthy and happy .my new problem is about my domestic rabbits that I let run free in my yard.(I have no close neighbors here in Big Sky country)I am in a mild climate part of Mt. but near the end of the winter some of them got runny eyes that eventually would become complely closed,sometimes only one sometimes both there are about 4 of them and some show signs of parallisis,one died yesterday .Both her eyes were closed for about 3 wks.prior.Since they are outside running free I can't catch them to take them to vet.(I am in a w/chair) is there any way  medicate them in their water or food ?If so is there any medicine for this malady. some of them had lumps under thir  jaw and other places and they eventually burst and they got better after  that in most cases.It seems when they first got this it started with runny eyes and nose.l wonder if it is contagious to the others .I have quite a few and only about 4 or 5 sick ones and I do hate to put them down if it isn't necessary to keep all of them from getting sick.We are on 100 acres and there a bunch of them.Any advise you can give will be greatly appreciated,thank you so much,Sincerely,Pat Sifford

Answer
Dear Pat,

Although I have not heard of this virus being endemic in your area, the description you provide sounds very much like myxomatosis, a deadly viral disease for which there is no treatment or cure.  The rabbits who survive may have a genetic predisposition to a stronger immune system, and once they have recovered, they are unlikely to get the disease again.  Also, very young rabbits (under 6 weeks) who are exposed to the virus appear to develop a lifelong immunity in most cases.

If you have sick rabbits showing these symptoms, the kindest thing is euthanasia, since there is no treatment for this terrible disease.  It is spread by biting insects such as mosquitoes and fleas, which would be impossible for you to control in your area.

If possible, please take one of the dead rabbits to a good local veterinarian who knows how to send tissue samples to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) to confirm whether or not this is myxomatosis.  If it is, then all rabbit owners in your area should be made aware that the virus has reared its ugly little protein coat there, so they can take appropriate precautions to protect their rabbits.

Outdoor, unvaccinated rabbits are almost impossible to protect.

There is one very experimental treatment that has been used in a handful of cases, in which the veterinarian prescribed Equimune IV and saw complete recovery in symptomatic rabbits.  You might wish to share this information with your vet (I can send you a more complete article about this if you email me directly at :  dana@miami.edu) to see whether this might be an option to consider for your symptomatic rabbits.

Since you are not able to capture them yourself, perhaps you could enlist the help of a friend or neighbor.  Otherwise, I fear this epidemic could spread throughout your bunnies and wipe most of them out.

I must say that since I cannot see the rabbits I cannot tell for sure if this is myxo.  But it sure sounds like it.  It's just not all that likely that these symptoms would spread so quickly and cause death if it were something else.  But mange can cause swollen and closed eyes, and lumps on the jaw *could* be jaw abscesses.  For this reason, it's important to have necropsies done on the dead rabbits to confirm what the pathogen is that you're dealing with.

To protect Bugsy, be sure he stays indoors, protected from biting insects.  He is at great risk if this is myxomatosis.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Dana