Incidence and mortality due to respiratory diseases in rabbits

In the present study, the materials consisted of tissue samples from rabbit carcasses collected from organized farms located in and around Hyderabad apart from the animals necropsied in the Department of Veterinary Pathology, PVNRTVU, College of Veterinary Science, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. A total of 150 rabbit carcasses of either sex and of different age groups died during January to July 2018 were subjected to detailed postmortem examination for pathological and bacteriological study. System wise causes of mortality was summerized in which highest mortality is due to involvement of respiratory system (43.33%). In respiratory system higher incidences of mortality due to pneumonia (73.84%), followed by tracheitis (6.15%), emphysema (6.2%), lung abscess (4.6%), pulmonary oedema (3.08%) and congestion (3.08%) were recorded. A total of 45 samples from lungs were examined for bacterial isolation and the major pathogen isolated from lungs was Staphylococcus (33.33%) followed by E.coli (24.43%), streptococcus (13.33%), Pasteurella (8.9%). ABST revealed that most of the bacterial strains were sensitive to ceftriaxone and gentamycin.