Brucella spp. Infection: Brucellosis
Brucellosis in domestic rabbits is rare, but infection with B. intermedia has been observed in rabbits purchased at a market in Tunisia. No gross lesions were reported.
Brucellosis is primarily a disease of wild hares, and has been reported in both European and North American hares.
In Europe, hares are believed to be important reservoir hosts for B. suis, but B. melitensis and B. abortus have also been isolated. In North American jackrabbits (hares), B. suis and B. melitensis were isolated. In hares, pyogranulomatous lesions have been found to arise primarily in reproductive organs of both sexes, with inconsistent involvement of liver and spleen.Campylobacter spp. Infection
Campylobacter has been inaccurately blamed as the etiology of proliferative enteritis associated with intracellular “Campylobacter-like organisms” in a number of species (rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, rat, and mouse). Lawsonia intracellularis is now recognized as the cause of that disease. The enteric pathogens Vibrio coli and V. jejuni have been reclassified as Campylobacter. An older report described “Vibrio-like organisms” in associated with enteritis among weanling rabbits. In retrospect, the morphologic features of the bacteria described in that report were consistent with Campylobacter spp. In the cecum, submucosal edema with polymorphonuclear cell infiltration was observed. Enter- ocytes were flattened and irregular, with focal ulceration. Cecal crypts were hyperplastic, and some crypts were distended with bacteria and cell debris. In Levaditi- stained tissue sections, “Vibrio-like organisms” were demonstrated on the surface and within the cytoplasm of damaged mucosal cells. Similar organisms were rarely observed in the ceca of controls, and when present, there was no evidence of invasion. Recently, a high prevalence of Campylobacter infection was found among commercially raised rabbits in Italy. It appears to be a novel species identified as C. cuniculorum. Its clinical significance is not known. A low prevalence of C. coli and C. jejuni was also detected. Healthy and diarrheic rabbits, as well as rabbit meat, have been found to be infected with
C. jejuni. The role of Campylobacter spp. as primary pathogens in rabbit enteritis remains to be determined.