BACTERIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON SPORADIC SUDDEN DEATH CASES IN RABBIT FARMS USING MULTIPLEX PCR

Mourad, Disouky Mohamed; Hafez, Amani; Ragab, Mohamed; Osman, Wafaa; ElSamahy, Hanan

doi:10.21608/epsj.2023.321645

BACTERIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON SPORADIC SUDDEN DEATH CASES IN RABBIT FARMS USING MULTIPLEX PCR

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Animal and Poultry Health Department, Desert Research Center, Egypt

² Animal and Poultry Health Department, Desert Research Center egypt

³ Animal and Poultry Health Department Desert Research Center egypt

10.21608/epsj.2023.321645

Abstract

Rabbits rearing is worldwide rapid well developed industry especially in developing countries as it resemble a good alternative cheap, and high source of animal protein need less rearing areas with low costs in comparison to red meat sources. Many challenges face this industry include viral, bacterial, parasitic, nutritional deficiencies and mis-management diseases. Although the weaned rabbits as well as rabbits dams were considered as the big income of rabbits producers, they attacked by certain undiagnosed pathogenic agents that cause sporadic deaths allover rabbits farms resulting in economic losses. So this work was aimed to focus on bacterial causes of the sporadic rabbits mortalities using Multiplex PCR which detect multiple bacteria at the same time in many samples. Lungs and/or livers samples were collected from freshly dead rabbits of 20 rabbit farms under complete aseptic conditions and preserved in refrigerator till sent rapidly to lab. for Multiplex PCR application against 8 available primers of M. haemolytica, Mycoplasma spp, Klebsiella spp, E. coli spp, P. multocida, Y. enterocolitica, Staphylococcus spp, and L. momnocytogens. Eighteen rabbits farms affected with E. coli spp, followed by Staphylococcus spp (11), Klebsiella spp (9), Y. enterocolitica (7), and Mycoplasma spp (2). L. momnocytogens, P. multocida, and M. haemolytica were not detected in rabbits farms. One farm had no infection, five farms had a single infection, and fourteen farms had mixed infection with E. coli. This study concluded that sporadic sudden death cases in rabbits farms were recorded mostly in weaned, and juvenile rabbits more than adult ones, E. coli is the most primary causative agent with those cases, Mycoplasma was a new interest should be considered in such cases where it was recovered from adult rabbits dams, and finally Klebsiella, and Y. enterocolitica should be taken in consideration on sporadic mortality particularly in weaned and juvenile rabbits.

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