Bordetella in Young Rabbits and Squirrels

Julie DeCubellis; Karen Shenoy

doi:10.53607/wrb.v24.195

Authors

Julie DeCubellis DVM St. George's University, School of Veterinary Medicine
Karen Shenoy DVM Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53607/wrb.v24.195

Keywords:

Bordetella bronchiseptica, rabbit, squirrel, wildlife rehabilitation

Abstract

Bordetella bronchiseptica is a small gram–negative rod bacterium and a common inhabitant of the respiratory tract of rabbits and rodents. The organism is associated with upper respiratory tract infections including ‘snuffles’ in rabbits. In addition, B. bronchiseptica may be a primary respiratory pathogen in rodents and cats, a cause of tracheobronchitis (kennel cough) in dogs, atrophic rhinitis in pigs, and an uncommon but mild ‘whooping cough’ like syndrome in immunosuppressed humans. The organism has also been cultured in juvenile squirrels presenting to wildlife rehabilitation centers with upper respiratory infections (K. Shenoy and L. Davis, unpublished observations).

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Author Biographies

Julie DeCubellis DVM, St. George's University, School of Veterinary Medicine

Julie DeCubellis received a BA in biology from Rhode Island College and an MS in animal nutrition from North Carolina State University. She is currently a veterinary student at St. George’s University and is completing her final year at the University of Minnesota School of Veterinary Medicine.

Karen Shenoy DVM, Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota

Karen Shenoy is a staff veterinarian at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota and a member of the NWRA Veterinary Committee. She also serves as adjunct faculty in the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and in the Veterinary Technology Program at Globe College in Oakdale, Minnesota.

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