Bordetella in Rabbits

This may be why the presence of Bordetella makes other lung infections much worse - possibly because the cilia may not work correctly and the mechanism for cleaning out the lungs gets crippled.

If there’s any season that is more likely that illness from Bordetella in rabbits would occur, it might be when temperatures are cooling in autumn. Reports of seasonality span species and include rabbits, dogs, guinea pigs, and hedgehogs.

It is common for rabbits to be infected but not show any sign of illness. These rabbits are carriers, chronically shedding germs all over their environment and anything they come into contact with, including you. While very common in rabbits, Bordetella by itself doesn't usually make rabbits sick.

But some rabbits do get sick from just Bordatella. Symptoms are actually quite similar to those of Pasteurella (snuffles):

• Runny nose. Mucus can be quite runny and clear, or thick, white and gloppy
• Coughing and sneezing
• Eye drainage
• Loss of appetite

Bordetella bronchiseptica can protect itself from the rabbit’s immune defenses by hiding itself in a protective film.

Bordetella in rabbits can make it easy for other infections to take hold by crippling the lung cilia so that mucus and germs start collecting in the airways.

Other germs that cause upper respiratory infections in rabbits are:

• Pasteurella multocida (the overwhelmingly favorite suspect)
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Moraxella catarrhalis
• Mycoplasma spp
• Chlamydia spp

Rates of infection with Bordetella bronchiseptica are higher in weanlings than in adults, while more adults get sick with Snuffles than do weanlings. Meaning: You might consider treating a sneezing weanling with antibiotics, but especially if the symptoms are very mild.

On the other hand, a very great chance exists that bordetella will predispose that weanling to snuffles as it matures. If you don’t want THAT headache, simply cull the young’un. (Don't forget: in a show or commercial rabbitry, herd health is more important than an individual bunny.) See below for our opinion about pet rabbits with Bordetella infections.

Cleaning, Treatment and Prevention

Additionally, Bordetella in rabbits is already very common. (The rabbits that get sick are usually sick with Bordatella AND another germ--their immune systems are not up to par.)

Cleaning:
Bordetella is easily purged from the environment by common disinfectants. Scrubbing the cage, feeder and watering crock, valve or bottle, and then using a 1:10 bleach solution is very effective.

Treatment:
According to www.criver.com:

"Treatment of animals with antimicrobials may serve to treat illness [caused by bordetella], but rarely, if ever, resolves the carrier state, nor will [oral] antibiotic treatment eliminate bacteria from the bedding or cage surfaces. Thus, treatment is only recommended to ameliorate clinical signs."

Let me rephrase that:
Treating Bordetella in rabbits will probably result in the rabbit getting ‘better,’ but the rabbit will remain a carrier, and a shedder, of the germ forever after.

Plus, carriers of Bordetella probably become much more susceptible to Pasteurella, because of the ability of Bordetella to disrupt the function of the lung cilia.









Our Opinions on How to Treat:

• Commercial:
  Cull and replace breeding stock with healthy animals.

• Rabbitry for show or backyard meat:
  Cull and replace, if you can afford it. If not, then treat the animal, breed and obtain healthy replacement animals from its offspring. Find more details on how to breed health into all your rabbits on the Raising-Rabbits Pasteurellosis page.

• Pets:
  If your pet rabbit has an upper respiratory infection due to bordetella, the chances are very good that there are more germs than just Bordetella involved. A dreaded and likely second germ is Pasteurella (snuffles). Please understand...

  If this is the case, the chance of a ‘cure’ for your rabbit is minimal; you’re looking at course after expensive course of antibiotics for as long as the animal lives.

  If your pet rabbit has a ‘simple’ case of bordetella alone -- we can always hope! -- antibiotic treatment may very well help your pet return to health. Just know that it will probably still carry the germs even if it is no longer sick, and may be prone to respiratory problems in the future. But who knows, maybe it will go on to live a long happy life...!

Comments? Experiences? Questions?

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