Understanding Pasteurella

[Revverress]

On Saturday, I took my litter of 11 week old English Lop babies to a breeder to get some opinions on them. I noticed that Rio's eye was suddenly cloudy, and the breeder and I thought maybe he scratched it on a piece of hay, since I had hay in the carrier with him. She gave me some Terramycin eye ointment, and I made a vet appointment for Monday to get it checked out.

My regular rabbit vet wasn't in, but the vet who sees my dog and cat saw Rio. We discovered an abscess that was definitely not there before under his chin. His temperature was 106.9, and the vet thinks he has Pasteurella. We started him on injectable Baytril, and he goes back tomorrow to see our rabbit savvy vet.

I have absolutely no idea where he could have gotten Pasteurella from. I thought maybe he picked it up from some new hay I bought a few weeks back, but that wouldn't explain why he has it and none of my other bunnies have any symtoms. I've read that most rabbits carry the disease, and it can show symtoms when they get stressed- Is it possible Rio just got over stressed at the breeders? Would that mean that none of my other rabbits could catch it then?

I've read most of the links on Pasteurella in the Health Library, and I really don't understand the disease. If Rio carries it, and he got sick from it because of being stressed, would that mean his siblings would also carry it? Should they also not be bred/shown then?

I guess what I'm asking is for someone to please explain Pasteurella to me. I want to be able to ask the vet questions tomorrow, but I don't think I understand the disease enough to know what to ask.

Here's a pic of the little guy before he got sick:

 

[Ivory]

To put it simply, most rabbits carry Pasteurella. It's a bacteria that just likes to live on rabbits. Most rabbits carry some of it on their bodies, particularly in the nasal foldsand around the eyes. The bacteria like it there because it's warm, moist and dark, which is the ideal environment for them to grow in. It can be spread from mother to offspring, or a number of different ways. It isn't going to come from hay.

It's not always a bad thing. Many rabbits never show signs or symptoms of having the bacteria on them. If they aren't stressed, then it stays subclinical, or doesn't even affect them at all.

But if a rabbit becomes stressed, their immune system begins to drop. As we know, the immune system fights of infections and/or keeps current things under control. When the immune system is not working optimally, opportunistic things take advantage of their new, easier-to-live-in environment, and multiply. The body cannot fight it off on its own, and the infection begins to take over. Eventually it will pass into the bloodstream and travel through the whole body, without treatment, that it.

Coccidiosis (intestinal parasite) works much the same way.

 

[ra7751]

Only have a second here....but pasteurella is carried sub-clinically by nearly every warm blooded mammal and many birds. In an ideal world, a strong immune system will keep this bacteria under control. You carry it yourself in your respiratory system.

I can assure you that if your rabbit has an abscess, while pasteurella will most likely be a "tag along"...it is the least of your worries. True abscesses have anaerobic bacteria (these bacteria do not require oxygen in which to live)in their core....and that is where the root of the problem lies and most of the time if it's on the jaw, it's a molar root impaction. The elevated body temp and the eye discharge along with a lump pretty much is the diagnosis for a rather large infection. I have treated many of them here without surgery. I can also tell you that if this is a true abscess, the Baytril will have no beneficial effect whatsoever (it's not that good with aerobic bacteria either). A good PE with rads of the jaw should be performed to determine if you are dealing with a true abscess. Just a thought too....if this rabbit has been outside....a "warble" can also appear to be an abscess.

I have to go out to triage an injured cottontail...but I do have an article I wrote about pasteurella around here somewhere if I can find it. But I will explain in more detail as soon as I get time. But that abscess needs some serious attention. THAT BODY TEMP HAS GOT TO COME DOWN....SUB-Q FLUIDS OR COLD PACK APPLIED TO THE BODY!! Anything about 105 is cause for serious concern.

More when I get back.

Randy

 

[Revverress]

Thanks Ivory and Randy for the explanations. I guess I'll have to do some more reading into abscesses then.

He's temperature is now at 104.1, not the best, but at least it's much lower. I'll start applying cold packs.

As for the warble issue, I let my rabbits have exercise in a pen outdoors for about an hour every other day, but they're housed in my garage [I keep fly tape up in there]. Is it possible he could have gotten flies in that short amount of time? They should have the test/lab results of the abscess back tomorrow, so I'll find out what it really is then.

The abscess is more of on his throat area rather than his jaw, and it feels like it's spreading some into his chest area. =/

I'm still at a loss as why he has this huge infection, and so suddenly. I can honestly say that I do keep my bunnies very clean, and none of them have been to a show recently. I bleached down -everything- today, but I still want to know what caused this so I can prevent it from happening again.

I can't wait to get him into my regular vet tomorrow..

-Holly

 

[ilovetoeatchocolate]

Oh Holly I am so sorry that you have to go through this! It is always such a tough time when our bunnies are sick. I wish I could offer you more help but I am quite the beginner when it comes to rabbits myself!

Hoping for a speedy recovery for you bun.

Shannon

 

[Maureen Las]

I'm sorry Holly..it is devastating to find a serious problem that just seemed to occur overnight. i hoe the vet can help and maybe open to some of Randy's thoughts on the tresatment of abscesses.