Term
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Definition
- common but may be subclinical
- chronic resp disease is likely to increase the risk of anaesthetic related death in these species |
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Term
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Definition
sneezing, snoring, dyspnoea, ocular discharge, conjunctivitis, dacryocystitis, nasal mucosa erosion and nasal discharge, which may be seen matted on the medio-distal aspect (‘hankies’) of the forelimbs. Auscultation of the trachea, sinuses and nares reveals rattles and rales.
- coughing is rare
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Term
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Definition
include dyspnoea, cyanosis, anorexia, depression, pyrexia or hypothermia and lethargy.
Pulmonary rales or increased respiratory effort, particularly intercostal or abdominal effort indicates LRT disease.
Absence of lung sounds or very loud heart sounds may indicate replacement of normal lung tissue with consolidated lung tissue, abscesses or neoplasia.
Friction sounds may be heard with pleuritis and fluid sounds are heard with pulmonary oedema.
Bilateral exophthalmus is commonly observed in rabbits with advanced thymomas, related to interference of vascular return to the heart by the mass.
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Term
| Diagnosis of Resp disease |
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Definition
- x ray
- CT
- rhinoscopy
- bronchography
- BAL |
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Term
| Treatment for Resp disease |
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Definition
- Ab, after culture and sensitivity of nasal swabs or tracheal washes.
- supportive treatment including O2 therapy, nebulisation with mucolytics, bronchodilators, NSAIDS.
- P. multicoda is sens. to penicillin G. resistant to lincomycin, clindamycin, streptomycin.
- beware of stress related reduced immunosuppression and corticosteroid therapy or immune disease will also predispose the rabbit to commensal or opportunistic pathogens |
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Term
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Definition
- commensal organism of the mucous membranes that exhibits pathogenicity when the host's immune defences are compromised
-Virulence factors of P.multocida include adhesions, resistance to phagocytes, endo and exotoxins, iron regulation and production of filamanents (pili) to assist binding to membranes.
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Term
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Definition
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Thymomas are seen in both young and adult rabbits. These tumours can be of either lymphoid or epithelial in origin.
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Females older than four years of age have a 50-80% incidence of uterine adenocarcinoma. Metastasis to local tissues and lungs, liver, brain and bones may occur within 1-2 years.
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Term
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Definition
| rabbits cant tolerate heat stress and heat stroke can present as LRT disease, with pulmonary oedema, cyanosis and death. |
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Term
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Definition
Irritants (e.g. dust, ammonia, cigarette smoke, wood shaving vapours) will predispose the respiratory tract to infection. Aspiration pneumonia has been infrequently reported in rabbits, foreign bodies of the LRT are rare.
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Term
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Definition
Historical signs suggestive of heart disease or failure in rabbits include decreased appetite or complete anorexia, weight loss, dyspnoea, tachypnoea, hind limb weakness progressing to generalized weakness, exercise intolerance may be noted by some owners, especially in house rabbits, lethargy, syncope, collapse and sudden death.
Blood pressure for rabbits is a mean arterial blood pressure 80- 91 mmHg, systolic blood pressure 92.7-135 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure 64-75 mmHg. Normal values for ECG and echocardiographic parameters in pet rabbits have been reported.
- beware of use of diuretics can rapidly lead to dehydration
- watch therapy given and monitor clinical signs for adverse reactions
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Term
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Definition
Crusting and scaling of the skin with mild pruritis, especially along the dorsum is usually due to Cheyletiella parasitovorax, the rabbit fur mite, which causes ‘walking dandruff’. It is a non-burrowing mite, just visible to the naked eye. Many rabbits carry the mites with no overt signs.
Partial alopecia may be seen in heavy infestations. Cheyletiella is zoonotic, causing a papular dermatitis in people. Diagnosis is easily made with a cellophane tape test. The treatment of choice is ivermectin. All in- contacts should be treated and the environment thoroughly cleaned.
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Term
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Definition
- pruritis and thick crusts on inside of the pinnae is often caused by psoroptes cuniculi , rabbit ear mite.
- lesions can spread to the face and neck and secondary bacterial infections can develop with the external ear canal.
- can see mites on exam
- Hind nails should be trimmed to minimise self trauma and the scabs in the ear should NEVER be picked off and instead allowed to fall off naturally. All in-contacts should be treated.
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Term
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Definition
- pruritis and thick crusts on inside of the pinnae is often caused by psoroptes cuniculi , rabbit ear mite.
- lesions can spread to the face and neck and secondary bacterial infections can develop with the external ear canal.
- can see mites on exam
- Hind nails should be trimmed to minimise self trauma and the scabs in the ear should NEVER be picked off and instead allowed to fall off naturally. All in-contacts should be treated.
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Term
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Definition
- ulcers and scabs of the nose and perineum
- asymptomatic carriers with overt disease precipitated by stress
- skin scrape needed
- often self limiting but effective treatment with injectible penicillin once every 7 days for 3 doses.
NOT ZOONOTIC |
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Term
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Definition
(“sore hocks”) is a common chronic ulcerative granulomatous dermatitis of the metatarsal area seen in overweight inactive rabbits kept on wet bedding or hard floors.
Hereditary factors are also thought to be involved and Rex rabbits are particularly affected as they lack the protective guard hairs.
Secondary bacterial infection often occurs which can progress to osteomyelitis given the lack of soft tissue in the distal limb.
Treatment involves addressing the initiating cause as well as debridement and cleaning of the lesions, topical and systemic antibiotic therapy and the application of dressings.
Prevention is better than cure and involves providing more supportive bedding, increasing exercise and preventing obesity.
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Term
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Definition
- clinical sign
- Urine scalding of the perineum may occur due to primary incontinence (encephalitozoonosis, spinal lesions, UTI), poor husbandry (eg. urine-soaked bedding), conditions that prevent normal positioning during urination (pododermatitis, obesity, arthritis, inadequate space), conditions that prevent normal grooming (dental disease, systemic illness), conditions that result in polyuria (eg. chronic renal disease) and ‘sludgy bladder syndrome’ (abnormal retention of calcium crystalluria).
Treatment includes clipping and cleaning of the perineum, opioid and/or non-steroidal analgesia, and specific treatment of underlying disease.
DDX: rule out neuro, urine sample, biochem ( kidney) , xray
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Term
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Definition
E. cuniculi- protozoal parasite
- shed in urine
- via ingestion of spores from urine-contaminated food and water
- They are readily susceptible to boiling, autoclaving and most routine disinfectants.
- Transmission occurs by ingestion, inhalation or transplacental transfer of these spores. Target organs are brain and kidney.
- The host cell eventually ruptures releasing spores into the extracellular space, resulting in chronic inflammation and granuloma formation. Infection is thus spread to surrounding cells and via the circulation.
- Serum antibody levels rise 21 days post infection and peak at 63 days. Spores are shed in the urine for approximately 9 weeks. Early infection (30 days post infection) is confined to target organs such as the lung, kidney and liver, with more chronic infection (100 days post infection) affecting the brain, heart, and kidney.
In many pet rabbits, exposure to this organism results in a subclinical asymptomatic infection and carrier status occurs. Immunosuppression is likely to be the trigger for development of overt clinical disease.
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Term
| E. cuniculi clinical signs |
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Definition
- head tilt
- torticolis
- hind limb paresis
- tremors
convulsions
- urinary incontinence
- cataracts, death
- Important differential diagnoses to rule out include otitis media/interna, spinal injury/infection, bacterial CNS infection, Splay leg and other inherited abnormalities, lead toxicity, toxoplasmosis and listeriosis.
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Term
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Definition
IgG and IgM antibody assays are available in the UK, and indicate exposure to the organism.paired serology
A PCR test is also available to detect spores in urine or faeces.
On postmortem examination there may be gross changes to the kidneys with pitting and scarring of the renal cortex.
Endoscopic kidney biopsy could be performed in the live rabbit to diagnose this infection on histopathology.
Definitive diagnosis of CNS lesions is at post- mortem.
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Term
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Definition
- response to treatment varies depending on whether the infection is acute or chronic
- chronic: CNS signs, treatment may not be succesful
Acute: may be alleviated with fenbendazole at 20ml/kg orally q24h for 4 weeks ( panacur)
- quarantine period new rabbits coming in- with a 28 day oral fenbendazole
- zoonotic risk |
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