What to Do If a Rex Rabbit Gets Rhinitis? Prevention and Treatment Methods

Introduction to Rex rabbit rhinitis:

Infectious rhinitis is one of the main infectious diseases of domestic rabbits, with a high incidence rate, strong contagiousness, occurrence in all four seasons, susceptibility in rabbits of all sizes, minimal vaccine effect, difficult drug control, low cure rate, high recurrence rate, long duration of the disease course, and easy worsening and secondary infection with other diseases, making it one of the most stubborn diseases in production.

Factors related to the occurrence of infectious rhinitis in Rex rabbits:

Rearing density: The greater the density, the higher the incidence rate.

Tier of the rabbit cage: Looking at rearing in three-tier rabbit cages, the incidence of rhinitis in rabbits on the upper tier is relatively high, while the incidence in rabbits on the bottom tier is low.

Cage position: In a rabbit house with multi-row arrangement, rabbits placed near the walls have a higher incidence rate, especially rabbits near the south wall in winter, which have the highest incidence rate, while rabbits placed in the middle have a lower incidence rate.

Rearing method: The incidence rate of outdoor cage rearing is lower than that of indoor cage rearing, and small-scale family rabbit farms are lower than large-scale rabbit farms.

Breed: Meat rabbits have the lowest incidence rate, while wool rabbits have the highest. This difference is mainly caused by genetics. Therefore, for wool rabbits and fur rabbits with poorer disease resistance, rearing management should be strengthened, and attention should also be paid to breeding for disease resistance.

Age: The incidence rate continuously increases with age, especially at the young rabbit stage, when the infection rate and speed of rhinitis are greatest, and the transition period from young rabbits to young adult rabbits also has relatively high susceptibility. It seems that during the rapid growth and development stage of domestic rabbits, susceptibility to rhinitis is also high. To reduce the overall incidence rate of the rabbit flock, one should start with young rabbits, vigorously focus on young rabbits and young adult rabbits, and strictly control breeding rabbits.

Season: Unstable temperatures easily induce disease in domestic rabbits. According to surveys, the incidence rate of infectious rhinitis is highest in winter, followed by autumn and spring, and lowest in summer, but the differences among the four seasons are not significant. Winter cold waves and foul gases (mainly from indoor rearing) can both induce the occurrence of rhinitis, adversely affecting the control of this disease.

Prevention and treatment of rhinitis in Rex rabbits:

Relevant professionals have used various drugs to treat infectious rhinitis, and the results show that various drugs have a certain effect on infectious rhinitis, but none can eradicate this disease. Bi Gang Jing has the best effect.

Combining previous research results, the following points can be summarized:

1. Infectious rhinitis is the result of the combined action of various pathogenic bacteria such as Pasteurella and Bordetella. These pathogenic bacteria normally exist in the upper respiratory tract and tonsils of domestic rabbits. The carrier rate in general rabbit flocks is 50%-80%.

2. The above pathogenic bacteria are mostly opportunistic pathogens, and the incidence rate of infectious rhinitis is greatly related to management level.

3. The main environmental factor leading to the occurrence of infectious rhinitis in domestic rabbits is the air quality inside the rabbit house. The more concentrated the harmful gases, the higher the incidence rate of rhinitis. Factors affecting the concentration of harmful gases include: rearing density, ventilation conditions, completeness of equipment, and cleaning of manure and urine.

4. The prevention of infectious rhinitis should be hoped for through vaccines. According to the author's survey, the effect of the current Pasteurella single vaccine is very unsatisfactory. If injecting, the Pasteurella-Bordetella combined vaccine can be used. It is best to make a vaccine from strains isolated from the rabbit farm itself, which has a certain preventive effect, but there is no absolute certainty.

5. Many drugs have effects on preventing and treating infectious rhinitis. The integrated Chinese and Western medicine——Bi Gang Jing has the best effect, but it also cannot eradicate this disease. The level of recurrence rate depends on the improvement of the environment. Other recommended methods include penicillin and streptomycin, 20,000-30,000 units per kg of body weight, mixed and injected intramuscularly, twice daily for 3 consecutive days; intramuscular injection of gentamicin, 20,000 units per kg of body weight, 3 times daily for 3 consecutive days; kanamycin, 15 mg per kg of body weight, twice daily for 3 consecutive days; intramuscular injection of ofloxacin 4 mg per kg of body weight, or ciprofloxacin lactate 3 mg, twice daily for 3-5 consecutive days.