Rabbit Syphilis or Vent Disease

Rabbit Vent Disease (Syphilis) or Hutch Burn?

by Rick Stahl
re-posted with permission

Rabbit Syphilis or Vent Disease is caused by a spirochete, Treponema cuniculi. This disease CANNOT be cured with topical application of any medication, even penicillin. That MAY clear up the blisters common to this disease but it will not kill the organism in the rabbit's blood stream, ONLY parental treatment with antibiotics will.

Mastitis ointment is very efficient in the treatment of Hutch Burn, very often confused with Vent Disease but definitely NOT the same condition.

Vent Disease, which looks like small white pimples is more accurately named Rabbit Syphilis, is a true venereal disease, caused by spirochete (similar to that causing human syphilis) in the blood stream. Hutch Burn is a relatively minor affliction, a localized irritation and inflammation of the vent/anal region due to urine (which is normally not acid BTW). Most often seen in does, it can be from dribbling of urine and/or from sitting on dirty cage floors. Best treatment is antibiotic ointment and regular cage floor cleaning.

These two conditions are often confused and the ONLY definite differentiation is by dark-field microscopy of scrapings of the lesions by a Vet.

The recommended treatment for Vent Disease is with Dura Pen (Bi Cillin or Pen BP-48) these are a combination of Procaine Penicillin G and Penicillin G Benzathine, stays in bloodstream longer than Procaine Pen G by itself. It is recommended that it be given once a week for three weeks. This a highly contagious and can be spread by contact and during breeding, all rabbits, including virgin offspring should be treated. Dosage is 20,000 IU per pound of body weight (1/15 cc per pound) given Subcutaneously (SQ). This medication is of course not listed for use in rabbits but in use with cattle it is listed as SQ ONLY. The use of topical penicillin will only aid in spreading the disease throughout a herd.

As with all antibiotic therapy, in rabbits, it should be accompanied by free feeding of hay to help prevent diarrhea.

Thank you to Rick Stahl for permission to repost his article.

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