Respiratory infection in the rabbit: an enzootic caused by Pasteurella lepiseptica and attempts to control it by vaccination.

Abstract

The existence of a respiratory disease in domestic rabbits is a problem of concern not only to the laboratory but also to the commercial breeder. The disease, known commonly as snuffles, has been recognized since rabbits were first used as laboratory animals. The etiology of the disease has received extensive investigation by several workers, chief among them being Ferry,i who isolated an organism associated with the disease which he called Bacillus bronchosepticus, and Webster,2-4 who concluded that the causative organism was primarily Pasteurella lepisepticum. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the cause of a 50% mortality rate, with death almost invariably due to pneumonic infection or accompanied by it, in a colony consisting of about 1000 rabbits, many of which are inbred. The etiology of similar respiratory diseases in rabbits shipped from breeders and laboratories in other localities was also determined.