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Can you test for Bordetella in Rabbits.

My friend recently took on a Bun, she was due to go to rescue. Since the bun arrived all her animals have got ill. The vet believes the Rabbit is a carrier as she has never showed any signs of being infected.

Obviously this Rabbit cannot go to rescue or rehomed to another home without knowing if or if not she is a carrier. From our research the Guinea Pigs that have got the virus will now be carriers, so she will be unable to home anymore animals, due to this awful situation.

She sadly has already lost a Guinea Pig and one has been critically ill but is now on the mend, numerous others have been infected also.

She plans to have the Rabbit tested. She has asked the Vet if they can do it, and they said they put a swab up the rabbits nose then wait for it to culture. I am wondering how accurate this test is?
 
Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear this :(

Has coccidiosis been ruled out? Are the animals sharing the same area at all, or have they always been kept separate? What have the symptoms been?

Although rabbits and piggies tend to harbour different species of cocci, my understanding is that some species can cause disease in both buns and piggies. It would probably be an easier and more reliable test than trying to swab for bacteria as it would just be taking a faeces sample for testing, and I'd have thought it may be more likely, because it would be spread about in faeces (and so also on bits of hay, bedding etc which the wind catches and moves around) whereas bacteria like bordatella is more likely to spread by direct contact.

Good luck, I hope your friend manages to get some answers x
 
Thats very interesting, She keeps her animals in a shed. The only animals that have been infected are the Guinea Pigs.

Symptons: sticky eyes, Weezing when breathing, Coughing and sneezing.

The Guinea Pigs lost there appetite and went downhill quite quickly despite the fact they were all at the vets within 24hrs of showing sign of illness.

First of all two were infected, antibiotics were prescribed the following day another 2 were infected and so on 7 out of 9 guinea pigs were infected. It seems to have hit the younger pigs more so. One died and the other one was on Oxygen at the vets for 2 days.

None of them had been in with the rabbit, although they were in the same shed and not all the Guinea Pigs lived together.
 
Mmmm yes those symptoms do sound more bordatella-y don't they.

I wouldn't have thought that an asymptomatic rabbit would necessarily be unable to be rehoused with other rabbits (clearly not guinea pigs) though, as it's probably a bit like pasteurella in that many of them naturally carry it without causing ill effect.

I wonder if it might be easier to get a good sample from one of the poorly guinea pigs rather than the rabbit; at least that way you can be pretty sure about what is causing the illness so it would double as a diagnosis, although it won't of course tell you for 100% certain that the rabbit is the source.

Nasal swabs can be effective but they are certainly not foolproof - i.e. if it comes back 'negative' it doesn't necessarily mean that there is nothing there, it just means that nothing was picked up from that particular swab sample. It can be hard to get deep enough into the nasal cavity to get a decent sample, but I guess if the rabbit is asymptomatic then there might be more chance of getting a positive sample.

I'm not sure there's an easy answer I'm afraid - other than take the rabbit out of the shed and if it is the source of the infection (of bordatella or whatever it turns out to be), then at least removing the rabbit means that the outbreak should start to dip.
 
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