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pasteurella deaths

spudley29

New Kit
Hi, has anybody else experienced sudden unexpected deaths from pasteurella? I have had 3 rabbits die in the last 5 months, all of them house rabbits, and none exhibited any symptoms before death other than going off their food in the last 24 hours or so and seizures/CNS symptoms at the point of death. I just had a post mortem done on the last rabbit, which the exotics specialist initially thought might be RHD2 related but is now saying he thinks the death was a result of septicaemia caused by pasteurella. None of my rabbits had any respiratory symptoms. Has anybody else experienced anything like this?
 
Hi, has anybody else experienced sudden unexpected deaths from pasteurella? I have had 3 rabbits die in the last 5 months, all of them house rabbits, and none exhibited any symptoms before death other than going off their food in the last 24 hours or so and seizures/CNS symptoms at the point of death. I just had a post mortem done on the last rabbit, which the exotics specialist initially thought might be RHD2 related but is now saying he thinks the death was a result of septicaemia caused by pasteurella. None of my rabbits had any respiratory symptoms. Has anybody else experienced anything like this?

I am very sorry for your losses :cry:

I have not had any personal experience of this with my own Rabbits, thankfully. But I have known of it to happen. Did the PM reveal any lung abnormalities ? Sometimes Pasteurella can cause lots of clusters of small abscesses in the lungs. No obvious symptoms may be clinically evident until an acute pneumonia and rapid death occurs. It can happen in just a few hours, infection entering the bloodstream too causing sepsis and major organ failure. Sometimes there may be a few subtle warning signs- unexplained weightloss, or failure to thrive if the Rabbit is still growing. Occasional 'dry' sneezing- ie sneezing but no nasal discharge. Many Rabbits may be carriers of Pasteurella at a sub-clinical level

http://www.criver.com/files/pdfs/infectious-agents/rm_ld_r_pasteurella_multocida.aspx

Do you have any Rabbits remaining now and if so has the Vet suggested any precautionary action you need to take regarding them ?

Sudden deaths really are awful and so hard to come to terms with :cry:
 
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Hi, has anybody else experienced sudden unexpected deaths from pasteurella? I have had 3 rabbits die in the last 5 months, all of them house rabbits, and none exhibited any symptoms before death other than going off their food in the last 24 hours or so and seizures/CNS symptoms at the point of death. I just had a post mortem done on the last rabbit, which the exotics specialist initially thought might be RHD2 related but is now saying he thinks the death was a result of septicaemia caused by pasteurella. None of my rabbits had any respiratory symptoms. Has anybody else experienced anything like this?

I'm so very sorry to hear of your loss.

Yes Pasturella can be either chronic or acute and can cause sudden death without prior symptoms, sadly. I have found this to be the case in the past, though only rarely.


http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/e...acterial_and_mycotic_diseases_of_rabbits.html
Rabbits may develop Pasteurella septicemia and die acutely without any clinical signs. Septicemia necropsy findings may reveal only congestion and petechial hemorrhages in multiple organs.



Some info here as well:
http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/RWAF Pasteurella multocida.pdf

I am glad you had the post mortem done, and it puts your mind at rest that it was not VHD2 (with the vaccine only just here) but of course is not any real consolation.
 
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