Hepatic coccidiosis in two pet rabbits

Hrženjak, Nina Mlakar; Zadravec, Marko; Švara, Tanja; Račnik, Jožko

doi:10.1053/j.jepm.2020.12.009

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…11 E. stiedae has been documented to cause clinical disease in pet rabbits, that in severe cases may develop clinical signs, such as diarrhea, anorexia, and lethargy. 17 Although most rabbits in our study had lesions of lesser magnitude and may have been infected subclinically, at least one animal had severe lesions similar to those recently reported in pet rabbits. 17 Interestingly, other investigators have demonstrated reduced body mass in wild rabbits infected with E. stiedae , 14 and it is possible that the infections noted in our study may have impacted body mass even if most of the rabbits were otherwise infected subclinically.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…17 Although most rabbits in our study had lesions of lesser magnitude and may have been infected subclinically, at least one animal had severe lesions similar to those recently reported in pet rabbits. 17 Interestingly, other investigators have demonstrated reduced body mass in wild rabbits infected with E. stiedae , 14 and it is possible that the infections noted in our study may have impacted body mass even if most of the rabbits were otherwise infected subclinically. Although it is suggested classically that wild rabbits may be a source of infection for domestic lagomorphs in suburban environments, the converse may also be true in the case of pet rabbits kept outside.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…In rabbits, a macroscopically white-spotted liver can be indicative of one of several disease processes that cause similar gross hepatic changes, consisting of small 1–2-mm, white-or-cream focal lesions scattered throughout the hepatic parenchyma. There are numerous parasitic causes of white-spotted livers in lagomorphs, including E. stiedae , 17 Cysticercus pisiformis , 1 and C. hepaticum 2 ; bacterial agents that can cause hepatic abscesses include Yersinia pseudotuberculosis 25 and Francisella tularensis . 13…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…25 E. stiedae are coccidian parasites found in both wild and pet rabbits. 17 Hepatic coccidiosis is potentially fatal, and occurs mostly in young, weanling rabbits, resulting in poor weight gain. 25 The disease is spread by the fecal-oral route.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eimeria stiedae causes most of the white-spotted liver lesions in wild European rabbits in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

et al. 2022

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In rabbits, a white-spotted liver can be indicative of one of several disease processes, frequently caused by parasites. To date, the prevalence of white-spotted liver in wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, in the United Kingdom is undetermined. We evaluated the prevalence and main parasitic etiologies of this entity in a U.K. population of wild rabbits. Wild rabbits ( n = 87) were shot in Cambridgeshire for population control, and cadavers were donated for research. Postmortem examination was undertaken, including gross and histologic hepatic examination. Macroscopic lesions consistent with white-spotted liver were found in 46 of 87 (53%) rabbits examined; most of these lesions were considered to be mild. For 28 of 46 (59%) rabbits with gross hepatic lesions, an etiologic agent was apparent histologically. Eimeria stiedae was detected in 21 of 87 (24%) rabbits, and Calodium hepaticum (syn. Capillaria hepatica) was detected in 7 of 87 (8%). In the subset of rabbits killed in the summer, there was a significant association between white-spotted liver and juvenile age class. There was also an association between white-spotted liver caused by E. stiedae and juvenile age class. When restricting analysis to rabbits with white-spotted liver caused by E. stiedae and submitted in the summer, both juvenile age class and female had significant effects. E. stiedae and C. hepaticum can be transmitted to pet lagomorphs via contaminated vegetation, and to humans in the case of the latter, which demonstrates the importance of monitoring the prevalence of these parasitic diseases in wild rabbits.

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