# Bordatella (kennel cough) in rabbits



## Maureen Las (Nov 22, 2007)

Recently in another website"s post (EB) a person wrote that they had a rabbit that was diagnosed with bordatella (kennel cough) . Their rabbit had been sick for 2 years ,been seen by many vets ,including exotics vets and treated for a respiratory infection unsuccessfully with baytril.

A culture was finally done showing the rabbit had bordatella (kennel cough)

All the vets were astounded. including the exotic vets. 
Rami (the vet on EB) explained that rabbits, indeed can get bordatella and it can be treated successfully with zithromax for 7 days at a dose much higher than used in cats and dogs. 
This is my concern.
At my shelter we (presently and have had for months) dogs in quarrantine with kennel cough. 
I don't work with the dogs but I do access the entire shelter having some contact with the individuals working in isolation. 
I have never been specifically concerned re. contamination between the rabbits and the dogs as I did not think there was a concern.

None of the shelter rabbits show symptoms but my mini-lop Babette still struggles with a "throat" condition which is being treated with baytril fairly unsuccessfully. The vet has agreed to start another drug if I give baytil a fair chance at a high dose. (he's sure this will work while I am just going along with him )

I am asking ,(specifically Randy) what his thoughts are on bordatella in rabbits and if he thinks that some of the rabbits he treats have hadbordatella. 
How can I get a culture on Babette ? She doesn't not sneeze nor have any type of discharge? 

Is it possible I brought this home on my clothing and body accidentally? What are the symptoms of bordatella in a rabbit?


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## Ivory (Nov 22, 2007)

_Bordatella _doesn't usually cause any problems in rabbits, it just sort of lives there. It does, however, make them more susceptible to _Pasteurella _infections.

It's an bacteria many rabbits have living on them. I don't think it ever causes problems.


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## Maureen Las (Nov 22, 2007)

From: "Rami" <[email protected]>
To: "vettechshannon" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [EtherBun] Bordetella in Bunnies
Date: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 5:36 PM



> question is this: Has anyone ever seen this diagnosis in rabbits 
> before, if so, how common is it and what has it been treated with? 



Bordetella infection isn't rare at all in rabbits. The treatment of choice is Zythromax
(azythromycin, and safe for use in rabbits) and, BTW, Baytril. The used dosage needs is higher in
rabbits: 50mg/kg PO QD (SID), than that usually used in cats and dogs, (5-8mg/kg), for a
successful treatment in rabbits. Treatment is 7 days, evaluation of the situation and eventual
prolongation of the treatment or not. The later has to be determined by the vet.


Rami


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## Ivory (Nov 22, 2007)

I need to look this up. I was under the distint impression that _Bordatella _doesn't cause problems apart from a suspectibility to other respiratory issues.


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## Ivory (Nov 22, 2007)

From Rabbits: Health, Husbandry, and Disease:
_
Many rabbits carry Bordetella bronchiseptica in their upper respiratory tract. It is not associated with diases, but its presence may increase the rabbit's susecptibility to __Pasteurella infection. It can be transmitted to guinea pigs and it is pathogenic in this species; __B. Bronchiseptica infection should be considered if rabbits are housed with guinea pigs._ 

From The Textbook of Rabbit Medicine:
_
There is a small risk of the guinea pig contracting Bordetella bronchiseptica, which is asymptomatic in rabbits but can cause pneumonia in guinea pigs.

_Same book, on the treatment of _Pasteurella:

Concurrent infections with other pathogens such as Bordetella bronchiseptica can affect the response to therapy.

_A more specific paragraph:

_Bordetella bronchiseptica has been isolated from a variety of animal species including pigs, rats, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and rabbits. In rabbits, B. bronchipseptica appears to be relatively non-pathogenic although it has cause localized suppurative bronchopneumonia in laboratory rabbits treated with cortisone prior to nasal inoculation of the organism. B. bronchiseptica can cause serious upper respiratory tract infection in guinea pigs. Isolates of B. bronchiseptica from different species have been typed according to thier bacterial sensitivity and investigations suggest thta infected rabbits and guinea pigs can infect each other. Many text recomment that the two species should not be housed together because of the risk of cross-infection although actual reports of this are rare.

_


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## Maureen Las (Nov 22, 2007)

But ,Ivory, what you are showing me contradicts the original post from the owner (I didn't keep it, however it would be archived) that indicated that after 2 yrs of having a sick rabbit that did not respond to meds that the culture indicated the shocking diagnosis of bordatella based on culture.
I guess that it is uncommon but it stillmakes me very uncomfortable considering I am dealing with a shelter housing the disease.


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## Ivory (Nov 22, 2007)

Angieluv, you could culture many rabbits and find a whole lot of _Bordatella_. There's a good chance your rabbits already have some living in their nasal passages. There's a good chance mine do, too.

And if the rabbit truly did have a symptomatic _Bordetella_ infection, I have my doubts over whether it was sick for two years. I just have problems believing that. Something is probably missing from that equation, perhaps the rabbit was immuno-suppressed or had something else going on.


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## Maureen Las (Nov 23, 2007)

Well then I guess I won't worry about babette having bordatella from me being at the shelter 

Thanks


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## RAL Rabbitry (Nov 23, 2007)

A good friend of mine lost 1/2 of her herd,20 rabbits from

Bortadella.She went to a show and her rabbits that she was showing

picked it up there. She had the first sick ones cultured and it came back

Bortadella. One of the main reasons that I have my show rabbits in a 

totally different room than my broodstock.

Roger


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## ra7751 (Nov 23, 2007)

Hi,

Bordetella in rabbits is much like pasteurella....it's there and it's the immune system's job to control it. In the very rare cases I have found (and we have had only one--never really confirmed but highly suspected) the symptoms are about the same as a pasteurella infection...runny nose, sneezing, etc. Most vets would treat with either tetracycline or baytril (and it's no secret that I have no love for either of those drugs). Zithromax and tylosin appear to me to be more effective....in my non-professional opinion. The one suspected case we had....Goober..came to us from the Grand Strand Humane Society in Myrtle Beach, SC. He was being kept in the quarantined cat room....and many of the cats had active KC. Goober did have an unusual infection in upper respiratory and in his ears. We treated it and it's never returned....and we will never know if it was actually bordetella but we think it was. We have had some guinea pigs with it and it can be easily passed from a rabbit to a piggie. But it seems to be like pasteurella....it just lies there until it has an opportunity to present itself. But I don't feel it's a major issue.

As far as a culture....a nasal smear should be sufficient but if you can do a full culture...all the better. Both bordetella and pasteurella are gram negative rods. There are numerous strains....one of which causes whooping cough in humans. I have never been too concerned about this bacteria....but since we are seeing some unusual things recently....resistant pasteurella and a streptococcus infection...it might bear watching a little more closely.

Randy


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## Maureen Las (Nov 23, 2007)

I have to keep Babette on oral baytril for a complete 5 week period. When I gave her IM Baytril myself her symptoms completely disappeared but after aprrox 3 days off the injections it came back very forcefully and worse than previously. 

It is at this time that I took her to Dr gary who was agreeable to azithromycin if she was tried on high doses of oral baytril. he did the x-ray to rule out lung masses or anything else and nothiing showed. On the 3rd week of oral baytril the only symptom she is exhibiting is a sort of sighing sound when she exerts herself ..such as grooming herself. 

To me this is a very bad sign and there is no doubt in my mind that this infection will once again reemerge when all meds are stopped. 

The oral baytril seems to keep it under control as her appetite and out put are very good. It just doesn not seem to totally kill off the bacteria.

I am going along with this to prove to the doctor that this probably won't work and it is really a shame that Babette has to be the guinea pig.

I know this Dr. is curious and not closed minded and so I expect for him to come through for Babette at the end of the 5 weeks. 

The idea of possibly passing bordatella to my rabbits via the shelter is very scary but most likely not the cause. 

if a rabbitry lost half of its rabbits due to this disease, however, it is certainly not something to dismiss. It is really sad.
it seems as if I learn something new everyday.

Thanks everyone !


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## cheryl (Nov 23, 2007)

*angieluv wrote: *


> it seems as if I learn something new everyday.



Yeah,i know..me to!

I really hope Babette will get past this....poor little girl....i just hate it when there is a sick little bunny out there

Thinking of you and Babette :hug:

Cheryl


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 24, 2007)

I think that it would be interesting to get information on the cases specifically. If they have truly had proof of bordatella, the information being supplied to the vetting community is inaccurate.

I do understand what Ivory is saying - you can culture and get a positive result on most rabbits, but does the culture represent the true factor in the illness? we can grow all sorts of goodies from people without us being sick from it..... like strep carriers.


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## pamnock (Nov 24, 2007)

There are many strains of Bordatella. Some infect a wide range of hosts, while other strains are limited in the species they infect. Bordatella can cause no disease symptoms as well as developing into chronic respiratory illness.

The3 primaryvariants that are most studiedincludepertussis, bronchiseptica, and papapertussis. There are other variants including avium, which is known for infecting turkeys. There are alsogenetic variations withing each strain. The species each variant primarily effects (but not limited to) is listed below:

Bordetella pertussis (whooping cough in humans) 

Bordetella bronchiseptica (kennel cough in dogs, atrophic[suP] [/suP]rhinitis in pigs, snuffles in rabbits,bronchopneumonia in cavies and some cases reported in humans)

Bordetella papapertussis (humans & sheep pneumonia) 

Bordetella avium (birds)



Pam


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## pamnock (Nov 24, 2007)

Excerpt below from an article on atrophic rhinitis:



Two types of atrophic rhinitis are distinguished:

Non-progressive atrophic rhinitis, caused by _Bordetella bronchiseptica_, is widespread but has little impact on productivity and the health status of the animal (de Jong, 1999).

Progressive atrophic rhinitis, caused by _Pasteurella multocida_, is of far greater economic significance, leading to reduced growth rates in affected stock (de Jong, 1999). The disease affects other species, including small and large ruminants, poultry, rabbits and humans, and is therefore a *zoonotic* disease. Poultry, sheep, cattle, dogs, rats and cats are all considered to be potential carriers of the disease (de Jong, 1999), but pig-to-pig transmission is most significant (Cowart, 1995). This section mainly discusses progressive atrophic rhinitis.


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 24, 2007)

So it's snuffles?


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## pamnock (Nov 24, 2007)

*Bo B Bunny wrote: *


> So it's snuffles?



"Snuffles" is just a general term for any type of "cold" symptoms in rabbits. Snuffles can have a number of causes and can involve a number of different pathogens.

Pam


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## Maureen Las (Nov 24, 2007)

Thanks Pam..this info is so interesting and so informative. I NEVER would have associated "kennel cough (bordatella) with other animals.


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## pamnock (Nov 24, 2007)

Interesting article on the rabbit strain of bordatella infecting humans . . .

http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/pbs/zoonoses/Bordetella/bordetellaindex.html


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 24, 2007)

*That is interesting! We just don't know all of what we think we know about so much! I would never have thought that a person could have the same thing as the rabbits as is suggested in the article. I would imagine that some viruses that in the past have not affected us, are beginning to from mutation.*

*pamnock wrote: *


> Interesting article on the rabbit strain of bordatella infecting humans . . .
> 
> http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/pbs/zoonoses/Bordetella/bordetellaindex.html


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## Maureen Las (Nov 24, 2007)

I just read it too...and agree with BO ...sure hope Babette doesn't have it as I was just down on the floor kissing her.
I love to learn this kind of stuff..thanks a lot Pam


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## TreasuredFriend (Nov 24, 2007)

Ditto on angieluv's post. Thanks a lot Pam!!!


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