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EC, Panacur and blood tests - A Question

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EC, Panacur and blood tests - A Question Empty EC, Panacur and blood tests - A Question

Post by thumpersmum Thu Feb 24, 2011 4:37 pm

(Not sure if this is the right place or not, mods feel free to move.)

Having buns with EC related issues it's something that I'm interested in. I know that many buns would test positive if they had the EC test even though they have no symptoms. If that is the case would they still test positive AFTER a 28 day course of Panacur?

Scenario
Bunny tested for EC - comes back positive with a high result
Bunny given 28 day course of panacur
6 weeks later re-tested for EC. Would you expect a negative result, a lower result or no change?

My understanding is that EC is carried in the urine of bunnies, and that panacur kills the spores, but the area bunnies have access needs to be disinfected as well to ensure spores in their environment are also eradicated. The blood tests only tell us that a bunny has been exposed at some point, not that the infection is active. Therefore if Panacur kills the spores, would the repeated subsequent blood tests then become negative, or would the bunny test positive forever?


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EC, Panacur and blood tests - A Question Empty Re: EC, Panacur and blood tests - A Question

Post by Happy Hoppers Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:33 am

The EC blood tests work on a titre scale, that is it measurs the antibody level in the blood, rather than the EC itself. As with humans antibody levels will diminish after the initial infection but will usually remain detectable in the blood stream indefinitely.

Due to this one single titre or blood test will only show if the rabbit has at any time been exposed to EC. The reason EC testing is so expensive and many vets and owners opt to treat 'just in case' rather than test, is that to work out if an infection is active or not the titre needs repeating at least 3 times over a number of weeks/months to see if the antibody level is increasing- active infection, dropping- infection in remission or remaining level- residual antibodies from past exposure or dormant infection.

Hope that helps.
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