Introduction

• Cause: bacterial infection caused by many different serotypes of Pasteurella. Pasteurella multocida  Pasteurella multocida, a gram-negative bipolar staining, non-spore forming, facultatively anaerobic, coccobacillus is often isolated.
• Many serotypes and strains exist and are typed according to their capsular and somatic antigens.
• The majority of serotypes isolated from rabbits are capsular type A.
• More severe disease has been associated with A3 and D strains.
• Pasteurella multocida appears to be a commensal bacterium of the respiratory tract in most pet rabbits; prevalence increases with age.
• The pathogenesis of Pasteurella multocida infection depends on the virulence of the strain and host resistance. In the 1920s Webster and Smith published a series of papers establishing pasteurellosis as the primary cause of respiratory disease in domestic rabbits. They established that rabbits challenged with Pasteurella multocida can either:
  • Resist infection.
  • Spontaneously eliminate infection.
  • Become chronic carriers.
  • Develop acute rhinitis, pneumonia or bacteremia.
  • Develop chronic disease.
• Signs: rhinitis, sinusitis, otitis, conjunctivitis, dacryocystitis, pleuropneumonia, bacteremia, abscesses within subcutaneous tissues, bone, joints or internal organs.
• Diagnosis: clinical signs, blood work, imaging to assess overall health. Definitive diagnosis based on culture and sensitivity, and Pasteurella PCR assay.
• Treatment: based on clinical signs and severity. Symptomatic treatment, nebulization, antibiotics based on sensitivity testing, surgical removal of abscesses. 
• Prognosis: depends on chronicity. Guarded to poor for chronic disease. Recovered animals intermittently shed Pasteurella.

Presentation

• Clinical manifestations of pasteurellosis are:
  • Rhinitis (snuffles) Rhinitis / sinusitis and turbinate atrophy (often arising through a synergistic infection with Bordetella bronchisepetica Bordetella bronchiseptica).
  • Sinusitis Rhinitis / sinusitis.
  • Pleuritis.
  • Pneumonia Pneumonia.
  • Pericarditis.
  • Otitis media/interna Otitis media / interna.
  • Dacryocystitis Eye: dacryocystitis .
  • Conjunctivitis Eye: conjunctivitis.
  • Abscesses Abscess subcutaneous, retrobulbar Eye: retrobulbar abscess or organ.

Many tooth root abscesses are not Pasteurella associated, but rather, are due to anaerobic bacteria.

Print off the Owner factsheet on Pasteurellosis to give to your clients.

Geographic incidence

• Worldwide.

Age predisposition

• No age predilection, however neonatal/young rabbits may have an immature immune system.

Breed predisposition

• Some reports suggests some rabbits are more genetically susceptible to developing disease with the Chinchilla breed Chinchilla being more susceptible than the Blue Beveren breed Blue Beveren.

Public health considerations

• The zoonotic risk presented by pasteurellosis should not be overlooked. In 2006, a fatal case of pasteurellosis was reported in a farmer from Suffolk in the UK, following contact with the viscera of an infected rabbit.
• Direct transmission from inhalation of infected respiratory secretions, and indirect transmission via contact with infected fomites postulated but unproven.

Pathogenesis

Diagnosis

Treatment

Prevention

Outcomes

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
• Scarff D (2008) Skin diseases of pet rabbits. UK Vet: Companion Animal 13 (2), 66-75 VetMedResource.
• Keeble E (2006) Common neurological and musculoskeletal problems in rabbits. In Pract 28 (4), 212-218 VetMedResource.
• Rougier S, Galland D, Boucher S et al (2006) Epidemiology and susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria responsible for upper respiratory tract infections in pet rabbits. Vet Microbiol 115 (1-3), 192-198 PubMed.
• Ruzauskas M (2005) Development and assay of inactivated pasteurella vaccine for rabbits. Biologija 2, 35-39 VetMedResource.
• Peshev R & Christova L (2003) The efficacy of a bivalent vaccine against pasteurellosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus. Vet Res Com 27 (6), 433-444 PubMed.
• Confer A W, Suckow M A, Montelongo M et al (2001) Intranasal vaccination of rabbits with Pasteurella multocida A:3 outer membranes that express iron regulated proteins. Am J Vet Res 62 (5), 697-703 PubMed.
• Takashima H, Sakai H, Yanai T et al (2001) Detection of antibodies against Pasteurella multocida using immunohistochemical staining in an outbreak of rabbit pasteurellosis. J Vet Med Sci 63 (2), 171-174 PubMed.
• Sanchez S, Mizan S, Ritchie B W et al (2000) Pasteurellosis in rabbits. Comp Cont Educ Pract Vet 22 (4), 344-351 ResearchGate.
• Suckow M A (2000) Immunization of rabbits against Pasteurella multocida using a commercial swine vaccine. Lab Anim 34 (4) 403-408 PubMed.
• McKay S G, Morck D W, Merrill J K et al (1996) Use of tilmicosin for treatment of pasteurellosis in rabbits. Am J Vet Res 57 (8), 1180-1184 PubMed.
•  Suckow M A, Martin B J, Bowersock T L et al (1996) Derivation of Pasteurella multocida-free rabbit litters by enrofloxacin treatment. Vet Microbiol 51 (1-2), 161-168 PubMed.
• Mähler M, Stünkel S, Ziegowski C et al (1995) Inefficacy of enrofloxacin in the elimination of Pasteurella multocida in rabbits. Lab Anim 29 (2), 192-199 PubMed.
• DiGiacomo R F, Deeb B J, Brodie S J et al (1993) Toxin production by Pasteurella multocida isolated from rabbits with atrophic rhinitis. Am J Vet Res 54 (8), 1280-1286 PubMed.
• Broome R L & Brooks D L (1991) Efficacy of enrofloxacin in the treatment of respiratory pasteurellosis in rabbits. Lab Anim Sci 41 (6), 572-576 PubMed.
• Suckow M A, Chrisp C E, Foged N T (1991) Heat-labile toxin-producing isolates of Pasteurella multocida from rabbits. Lab Anim Sci 41 (2), 151-156 PubMed.
• Deeb B J, DiGiacomo R F, Bernard B L et al (1990) Pasteurella multocida and Bordetella bronchiseptica infections in rabbits. J Clin Microbiol 28 (1), 70-75 PubMed.
• DiGiacomo R F, Deeb B J, Giddens W E Jr. (1989) Atrophic rhinitis in New Zealand white rabbits infected with Pasteurella multocida. Am J Vet Res 50 (9), 1460-1465 PubMed.
• DiGiacomo R F, Jones C D, Wathes C M (1987) Transmission of Pasteurella multocida in rabbits. Lab Anim Sci 37 (5), 621-623 PubMed.
• DiGiacomo R F, Garlinghouse L E Jr, Van Hoosier G L Jr (1983) Natural history of infection with Pasteurella multocida in rabbits. JAVMA 183 (11), 1172-1175 PubMed.
• Lu Y S & Pakes S P (1981) Protection of rabbits against experimental pasteurellosis by a streptomycin-dependent Pasteurella multocida serotype 3:A live mutant vaccine. Infection & Immunity 34 (3), 1018-1024 PubMed.
• Webster L T (1924) The epidemiology of a rabbit respiratory infection: I. Introduction. J Exp Med 39, 837-841 PubMed.

Other sources of information

• Hedley J (2014) Respiratory Disease. In: BSAVA Manual of Rabbit Medicine. Eds: Meredith A & Lord B. BSAVA, UK. pp 160-167.
• Varga M (2014) The Rabbit-Friendly Practice. In: BSAVA Manual of Rabbit Medicine. Eds: Meredith A &Lord B. BSAVA, UK. pp 59-79.
• Oglesbee B (2011) Pasteurellosis. In: Blackwell’s five-minute veterinary consult: small mammal. 2nd edn. Ed: Oglesbee BL. Wiley-Blackwell, UK. pp 476-478
• Deeb J D (2004) Respiratory Disease and Pasteurellosis. In: Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents. Clinical Medicine and Surgery. 2nd edn. Eds: Quesenberry K E & Carpenter J W. Saunders, USA. pp 172-182 .
• Langan G P & Schaeffer D O (2000) Rabbit Microbiology and Virology.In: Laboratory Medicine: Avian & Exotic Pets. Ed: Fudge. Saunders, USA. pp 325-333.
• Kpodekon M, Rideaud D & Coudert P (1999) Pasteurelloses du Lapin: Revue. Revue de Médecine Vétérinaire 150 (3), 221-232.
• Deeb B J (1997) Respiratory Disease and the Pasteurella Complex. In: Ferrets, Rabbits & Rodents; Clinical Medicine & Surgery. Eds: Hillyer E V & Quesenberry K E. Saunders, USA. pp 189-201.
• DeLong D & Manning PJ (1994) Bacterial Diseases. In: The Biology of the Laboratory Rabbit. 2nd edn. Eds: Manning PJ, Ringler DH & Newcomber CE. Academic Press, UK. pp 131-170.
• Whittaker D (1989) Pasteurellosis in the Laboratory Rabbit: A Review. In: The Veterinary Annual. Scientechnica, UK. pp 285-291. 
• Bourne D & Fox N (online) Pasteurellosis in Lagomorphs. Website: wildpro.twycrosszoo.org