ORNITHOBACTERIUM RHINOTRACHEALE (ORT) INFECTION IN RABBITS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Poultry and Rabbit Diseases Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Kafrelsheikh University

2 Animal Health Institute, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

3 Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University.

4 Poultry and Rabbit Diseases Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Kafrelsheikh University.

Abstract

This work was aimed to investigate the epidemiology and possible ways of diagnosis, treatment and control of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) as an emerging respiratory pathogen in rabbits during the period from 2013-2015. For this purpose, bacteriological, biochemical, serological and histopathological   examinations for the collected samples from suspected diseased 300 rabbits at different districts in Kafrelshiekh Governorate suffered from respiratory signs with nasal Discharge, depression with ruffled fur, decreased food consumption with poor performance and expectoration of blood stained mucus just prior to death . The results revealed isolation of 21 isolates with an incidence of 7%. The isolates were identified morphologically and biochemically by API 20 NE strip. Serological identification of the isolated strains using agar gel precipitation test revealed that all isolated ORT strains were belonging to serotype A.  Antibiogramme of the isolated ORT strains revealed sensitivity to sulphamethoxozole + trimethoprine, spiramycin, neomycin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline but resistant to penicillin, streptomycin, clindamycin, lincomycin, gentamycin, vancomycin and colistin sulphate.
Experimental infection of 3-month-old rabbits with isolated ORT strains and treatment trials using sulpha-trimethoprine and coconut oil were carried out. Clinical signs, post-mortem lesions and mortality with re-isolation of the infected strains were studied in details. Histopathological examination of different organs from experimentally infected rabbits revealed less severe lesions after treatment with sulpha-trimethoprine and coconut oil, in comparison with naturally infected rabbits.

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