Exotics: Rabbits Infectious Diseases Flashcards
What kind of virus causes myxomatosis?
Leporipoxvirus
Introduced into Europe in 1952
How does myxomatosis spread between rabbits?
- Direct contact
- Inhalation
- Biting arthropods (fleas, mosquitoes, cheyletiella mites)
What does clinical disease depends on?
What are the clinical signs?
Clinical disease
* Viral strain
* Season (vectors life cycle)
* Environmental temperature (cold)
* Age (maternal ABs 4-5 weeks)
* Immune function
* Vaccination status
Clinical signs
* Eyelid thickening and purulent eye discharge
* Nodules on ears, lips, nares, eyelids, external genitalia
* Occasional pneumonic signs
* Infertility
* Death by starvation
What is shope fibroma?
Different leporipoxvirus
Naturally infects american rabbit species
Induced self-limiting fibromas/fibromatosis
Cross-immunity against myxomatosis
What is the treatment for myxomatosis?
How is it prevented?
Trreatment- euthanasia
Prevention:
Vaccination- from 5 weeks
External parasite control
Avoid contact with wild rabbits
- What type of virus causes viral haemorrhagic disease?
- How is it transmitted?
- How does it cause disease/death?
- Calcivirus
- Urine, faeces, aerosols, biting insects
- Liver- initial replication inside hepatocytes
Necrotising hepatitis- DIC and acute liver failure
DIC causes fibrinous thrombi (lungs, heart, kidneys) leading to haemorrhage and organ failure
What are the clinical signs?
How is it diagnosed?
Clinical signs
* Sudden death
* Fever
* Increased RR
* Collapse, hypotension
* Neurological signs
* Haemorrhages
* In rabbits > 4 weeks
* Younger rabbits resistant to infection
Diagnosis
* Clinical signs
* Gross path: severe necrotising hepatitis, enlarged spleen, haemorrhages
* Histology
* PCR
What is the treatment and prevention for rabbits against viral haemorrhagic disease?
Treatment- Euthanasia
Young rabbits under 4 weeks can survive infection
Prevention:
Vaccination against VHD-1 and 2
From 5 weeks of age
Yearly boosters
What are the 3 conditions papillomatosis can refer to?
- Shope papillomavirus- can cause SCC-like neoplasia in domestic rabbits
- Oral papillomavirus- benign wart-like growths in the oral mucosa, self-limiting
- Ano-rectal papillomatosis- not viral induced. Cauliflower masses that bleed easily
- What causes the disease ‘snuffles’
- What causes pathogenicity
- Pasturella multocida
- Several strains
* primary inimmunosupressed,
* secondary in abscesses
* Can avoid phagocytosis, complement and other defences
* Endotoxin production
* Adhesion and filaments help infect hosts cells
What can cause an outbreak of pasturellosis?
- Subclinical URT infection
- Transmitted within a group- direct contact, aerosols
- Stress immunosuppresion- overcrowding, pregnancy/lactation, poor husbandry, nutritional deficiencies
- Ccauses clinical signs- spreads to other tissues- resp tract, tympanic bullae
What are the clinical signs of pasturellosis in rabbits?
- Rhinitis ‘snuffles’
- Pneumonia
- Genital infections
- Wounds and abscesses
- Dacryocystitis
- Otitis media/interna
How is pasturellosis in rabbits diagnosed?
Challening
Culture and sensitivity- deep nasal swab performed under sedation/GA
Serology- doesn’t indicate an active infection
PCR
How can pasturellosis be managed?
- Reduce stress and overcrowding
- Improve husbandry
- Increase ventilation
- Avoid temperature fluctuations
- Isolate symptomatic rabbits
- Antibiotics based on C&S + supportive + treat specific problems
- What causes ‘rabbit syphillis’?
- How is it transmited?
- How does it present?
- What is required for a definitive diagnosis?
- What are DDXs?
- How is it treated?
- Treponema paraluiscuniculi
- Sexual transmission, vertical transmission
- Nodes, crusty lesions that can ulcerate- vulva/prepuce, lips and nostils
- Histo and silver stains
- Myxomatosis, ano-rectal papillomatosis
- Penicillin SC at weekly intervals