Staphylococcosis, a common infectious disease, mainly infects rabbits through wounds on the skin and mucous membranes, posing significant risks to rabbit health. Let's understand the diagnosis and prevention methods of staphylococcosis in rabbits.
Diagnosis of Staphylococcosis in Rabbits
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Mastitis: Common in female rabbits a few days after delivery. In acute mastitis, the body temperature of the mother rabbit rises, she becomes depressed, loses appetite, and the mammary glands swell and turn purple or bluish-purple. In chronic mastitis, the mammary glands form hard lumps of various sizes, which eventually become abscesses.
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Pododermatitis: The epidermis of the rabbit's footpad becomes red and swollen, friction causes suppuration and ulceration. Due to pain, the affected rabbit walks with difficulty, loses appetite, gradually becomes emaciated, and eventually dies of systemic infection, leading to septicemia.
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Abscesses: Initially red, swollen, and hard, later turning into abscesses. They last for a long time, and after rupture, pus flows out, and the wound does not heal for a long time.
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Septicemia in kits: Occurs before kits grow fur, with the skin initially showing pea-sized abscesses, later turning into soybean-sized ones.
Prevention and Treatment of Staphylococcosis in Rabbits
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Cage Hygiene: The pathogen of staphylococcosis is a common bacterium, so controlling the environment is crucial. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of cages and the environment, adhere to disinfection procedures, avoid cage damage, promptly remove burrs, pay attention to keeping the bottom of the padding board flat and smooth, and prevent skin and paw damage from sharp iron wires. Strictly disinfect when cutting the umbilical cord of newborn kits to prevent external injuries to rabbits.
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Timely Treatment: Once the disease occurs, active treatment measures should be taken. External wounds in rabbits should be treated promptly. The preferred topical disinfectant is hydrogen peroxide solution, iodine tincture, gentian violet alcohol solution, or topical ointments (chloramphenicol, chlorhexidine, sulfonamide ointments, etc.). When local or systemic infections such as redness, swelling, heat, and pain occur, oral or injectable antibiotics such as penicillin, erythromycin, sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones (various types of ciprofloxacin) should be used.
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Treatment of Mastitis: For treatment, flush the affected area with 0.05% potassium permanganate solution through the teat, inject penicillin 800,000 units and streptomycin 0.1 gram into the muscle once a day for 3-5 days, and apply hot compresses with magnesium sulfate saturated solution to the affected area 2-3 times a day. Adding an appropriate amount of procaine hydrochloride to the injection solution will have a more significant effect. For cases of septicemia, antibiotics such as kanamycin or gentamicin can be injected into the muscle, and in severe cases, intravenous injection of glucose saline, sodium bicarbonate, vitamin C, and sodium camphorsulfonate (camphor sodium sulfonate) can be administered.
The above is an introduction to the diagnosis and prevention methods of staphylococcosis in rabbits. As this disease is caused by wound infection, it is essential to pay attention to rabbit management.
