Intro to Rabbit Medicine

Question 1

What are domestic rabbits used for

Answer 1

• Commercial meat and fur
• teaching and research
• exhibition by rabbit fanciers
• outdoor pets
• house pets

Question 2

Where can IM injections be done on a rabbit?

Answer 2

• Deep in quadriceps or lumbar muscles
  
  • injection into caudal thigh can result in nerve paralysis

Question 3

What IV sites are there in rabbits

Answer 3

• Lateral saphenous or cephalic veins preferred
• Caution using marginal ear veins = perivascular irritation

Question 4

What are the options for chemical restraint of rabbits?

Answer 4

• Midazolam w/ butorphanol
• Isoflurane
• Atropine +/- glycopyrrolate
  
  • some rabbits have atropinase

Question 5

What vaccines doe rabbits get?

Answer 5

None approved for use in the rabbit

Question 6

What is Pasteurellosis? Etiology?

Answer 6

• Most common bacterial disease in rabbits
• Etiology: Pasteurella multocida
  
  • G-, non-spore forming, bipolar, aerobic rod
  • usually commensal
  • various serotypes
  • Virulence factors:
    
    • adhesions
    • phagocyte resistance
    • endotoxin
    • exotoxin

Question 7

How is Pasteurellosis transmitted

Answer 7

• at birth (if doe has genital infection)
• horizontal transmission
  
  • direct contact
  • aerosol
  • venereal in genital infections
• P. multocida colonizes nasopharynx, paranasal sinuses ⇢ can spread and cause multisystemic disease

Question 8

What are the different forms of Pasteurellosis

Answer 8

Question 9

What are the predisposing factors of Pasteurellosis

Answer 9

• Poor nutrition
• stress
• poor husbandry
  
  • overcrowding
  • poor ventilation
  • sudden changes in temperature
  • suboptimal sanitation
• Immunodeficiency
• chemical or physical injury to mucosal barrier

Question 10

How is Pasteurellosis diagnosed

Answer 10

• Clinical signs (+/-)
• PE
• CBC/chem
• Culture
  
  • difficult (no growth is common, infection inaccessible to culture)
  • Important because other organisms may cause similar signs/pathology
• Cytology
• Radiography
• ELISA (immunoglobulins in blood or serum)
• Serology (paired titers)

Question 11

What is the prognosis of Pasteurellosis

Answer 11

• Varies with severity of clinical signs
• Prognosis good - early, mild URI
• Poor - w/ pneumonia, osteomyelitis, otitis interna, abscesses
• Recurrence is common

Question 12

What is the treatment for Pasteurellosis

Answer 12

• Difficult to eradicate
  
  • in vitro sensitivities often do not correlate with in vivo activity
  • treatment may result in enteropathy (via dysbiosis)
  • Treat to control disease/clinical signs
• Varies with site of infection
• Supportive care
• Antibiotic Therapy:
  
  • Anerofloxacin
  • Chloramphenicol
  • Trimethoprim-sulfa
  • Ciprofloxacin
• Analgesia - meloxicam

Question 13

How can Pasteurellosis be prevented

Answer 13

• Proper nutrition
• good usbandry
• Pasteurella - free animals for research colonies
• routine vet health checks
• remove chonically infected carriers
• quarantine