Bald Patch (pics) - Reaction to Cylap VHD Vaccine?

Paddy and Benji had their VHD vacs yesterday and this evening I have noticed Paddy nibbling and grooming at his leg.

I've discovered there's a bald patch about the size of a 2p piece at the top of one of his front legs. I managed to get some pics of it - it looks clean and he seems pretty much fine in himself apart from over-grooming this patch. He's eating and moving about fine.

As I've heard about reactions to the Cylap vaccine, am I (probably) right to assume this is one such case? The bald patch is nowhere near where the vaccine was injected - can these patches occur on other parts of the body, not just near the injection site?

I was all set to take him to the emergency vet tonight, but I think that's probably not necessary. Should I take him to the vet in the morning? As I say it looks clean and the skin doesn't appear to be broken. Don't know if he would benefit from Metacam. Should it just clear up on its own? (obviously we'll keep a close eye on it).

I actually asked the vet yesterday if they ever used Lapinject, and she said they had done in the past, but they tend to stick to Cylap. I didn't pursue it, but I'll not be having the Cylap done again.

Any advice welcome, thanks

I would have assumed a skin reaction to Cylap would be at the injection site, but I may well be wrong about this.

I have no idea about Paddy's bald bit except to say that these buns do like to worry us. I was talking to (or rather at) Chris earlier about this. Any problems with the cat I can take in my stride, any problems with the bunnies sends me into a flat spin. Why is this

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me will be able to offer more constructive advice.

In the meantime sending soothing vibes to Paddy.

Thanks Vanessa, I would have assumed too that if Cylap was the cause the bald spot would have been at the injection site - it may be something completely different to blame.

Like you, I do get so stressed when there's something wrong with bunnies - I think it's because they are such fragile creatures.

Thanks for the soothing vibes.

I've now been in contact with someone on another forum whose bunnies had a very bad reaction to the Cylap vaccine and all 3 had nasty bald patches in exactly the same place as Paddy has his, at the top of his front leg. So between that and what a couple of other people have said, I'm pretty sure the vaccine is to blame.

I'm so annoyed with myself as I knew it could cause reactions but it's the vaccine my vet uses and I just went along with that without insisting on Lapinject. I certainly won't be letting a bunny have Cylap again.

Paddy is now holding his paw off the floor a bit and therefore limping. The bald patch itself doesn't look any worse (and it's covered by fur, so if you didn't look for it, you'd just see him limping). He is eating and drinking normally, although there's quite a lot of uneaten caecotrophs in the tray.

We have an appointment at 5.10pm with our vet, so will update later.

I think I can explain why it has occured on his leg, the Cylap vaccine can sometimes drip out of the entry point (or the vet can partially inject through the scruff) causing some of the liquid to run across the body. The obvious route for this escaped liquid to take is down the front leg, where, if left to sit it will cause a reaction. The reaction itself is to one of the preservatives rather than an active ingrediant.

Ensure your vet reports the reaction to the manufacturers, Forte Dodge, who will then cover your additional medical expenses.

Poor Paddy Big vibes for your special boy Helen x

Thanks Jay.

Sooz - that's very interesting, thanks for that. Would never have occurred to me. I'll get the vet to report it. The other girl I was in contact with had £200 of medical expenses covered by the manufacturers. It's shocking really - I certainly won't be using it again, and I feel very bad that I've put them though this.

Apparently in recent months the product information leaflet has been updated, and it now says:

Adverse Reactions

"Up to 50% of animals will show palpable reactions which consist of swelling measuring up to 2 cm in diameter, redness and in some cases hair loss. The swelling subsides within 2-3 weeks without further treatment. Up to 50% of animals will show transient moderate pyrexia appearing within one day of vaccination and lasting for up to 3 days. Following vaccination animals may exhibit transient forelimb lameness which normally resolves within 48 hours."

This is very interesting - when daisy had his VHD last year he had it on the friday - and then on the sat night we took him to the emergency vet as I thought he had broken his leg.......£140 later he hadnt broken his leg and he stopped limping the following day.

He hasnt yet had his VHD this year as he is fighting his jaw infection.

So is Lapinject the safer option????

Sending lots of get well vibes for Paddy.

x x x x

Thanks Katie.

What a shame about what happened with Daisy. It does sound like he had a classic reaction to the Cylap vaccine.

It's now my understanding that, like Sooz says, if your vet reports this to Fort Dodge, the manufacturers, they will cover additional medical expenses. I don't know if this could be done retrospectively though. Maybe worth a try if it's the Cylap Daisy had? £140 is a lot of money!

I don't know much about Lapinject except that once the vial of fluid is opened, it needs to be used within the day, and it's enough to vaccinate about 5 rabbits (I think), so it's not quite so convenient for vets to use as they have to have several rabbits in on the same day to be vaccinated.

I think Lapinject is preferred by a lot of people as it doesn't seem to cause the skin problems or the limp.

If you search for Lapinject and Cylap on the NOAH COMPENDIUM you can see that there are far fewer contraindications for the Lapinject, so it does seem like a safer option.

I certainly won't be having the Cylap done again.

How is Daisy's jaw doing now?

POOR PADDY! ...and poor you too!!! I hope you have some luck at the vet tonight, and hopefully this all gets covered for you!