CHAPTER IV. 



RABBIT SEPTICEMIA 

 Hemorrhagic Septicemia of Rabbits 



This disease, classed for convenience as a 

 pasteurellosis, makes its appearance in many 

 instances without the channel of infection be- 

 ing apparent, but in the majority of outbreaks 

 the contagion can be traced to infection from 

 individuals suffering from the disease and 

 passed on by feces, infected hutches, baskets, 

 etc. 



Etiology 



The cause of rabbit septicemia is a bacte- 

 rium identical in its morphology, staining 

 properties, and cultivation with that of avian 

 cholera. It occurs as a small ovoid bacterium, 

 which stains well at either extremity but poorly 

 in its centre. It is Gram negative, grows well 

 on ordinary culture media, but assumes a dif- 

 ferent form than when recovered from the 

 blood or intestine. The bacilli grown on cul- 

 ture media are coccobacillus in form; those 

 isolated from the blood are ovoid, and those 

 from the intestine take the form of a very small 

 bacillus. All forms are non-motile, aerobic, 

 and do not produce spores. The bacillus is 

 named, B. cuniculicida. 



Symptpgms; 



The manifestations of rabbit septicemia dif- 



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