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Outbreaks of rabbit hemorrhagic disease have occurred recently in young rabbits on farms on the Iberian Peninsula where rabbits were previously vaccinated. Investigation identified a rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus variant genetically related to apathogenic rabbit caliciviruses. Improved antivirus strategies are needed to slow the spread of this pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we determined the occurrence of reproductive diseases in does on 1373 visited farms in Spain and Portugal, between 1994 and 2019. The retrospective information obtained was entered in a database classified as follows: apparent infertility (≤70% pregnancy rate), abortions (≥2% of serviced does), high fetal death risk at parturition (≥10%) or dystocia, amongst others. Infertility was the reason for 181 visits. The median of prevalence of apparent infertility in these cases was 35% (minimum to maximum: 25-90%) and the mean, 37.4%. We performed a prospective study to determine risk factors at the individual and farm level, with a second database corresponding to 2014-2019. We carried out pregnancy checks, assessed sanitary status and body condition, and recorded the age of 17,297 rebred lactating does on 142 farms. The median size of the farms was 800 does, and the examined cohorts, 350 does. Predisposing risk factors for infertility were observed: e.g., mastitis had an effect. During the 5-year study, we made a third database with the results from 190,508 does palpated by producers in a subset of 134 farms. In this case, the median of the prevalence of apparent infertility was 14.5% (minimum to maximum: 4.1-50%), which could be considered baseline occurrence when monitoring the theriogenology of rabbit doe farms. Reproductive rhythm was an enabling risk factor: does serviced ≤25 d postpartum were less fertile than at ≥32 d. We made a database with the body condition score (BCS) on a linear scale from 1 (emaciated) to 9 (obese). The pregnancy rate (PR) of underweight and borderline does (4/9) was 73.1%. The PR of overweight and borderline does (6/9) was 82.6% and those classified with a mean BCS (5/9): PR = 79.3%. We may infer that the optimum BCS for reproduction is 6/9, rather than 5/9. Some changes in female rabbit health and husbandry to improve reproductive performance and welfare are highlighted.

In this retrospective study, we describe the relative occurrence of clinical myxomatosis, and rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD), on 1714 commercial farms visited in Spain, between 1988 and 2018. We determined the annual prevalence based on 817 visits to 394 farms affected by myxomatosis. Myxomatosis was more prevalent from August to March, being lowest in June (3%) and highest in September (8.9%). With regard to RHD, we assessed 253 visits to 156 affected farms. We analyzed mean annual and monthly incidence. Two important RHD epidemics occurred; the first in 1988-1989 due to RHDV GI.1 (also known as RHDV), and the second from 2011 to 2013 due to RHDV GI.2 (RHDV2 or RHDVb). These epidemics occurred at times when effective vaccination had not been carried out. Relative monthly incidence in 2011-2018 was higher from April to August ( p < 0.001). The results we obtained from 1404 necropsies on 102 farms did not clearly relate serosanguinous nasal discharge in rabbits with disease caused by GI.2 infection. We also assessed vaccination schedules used on 200 doe farms visited from the end of 2014 to 2018; 95.5% vaccinated against myxomatosis and 97.5% against RHD. Both diseases remain prevalent; however, effective vaccination has produced a steady decline in myxomatosis and RHDV GI.1 and GI.2 on-farm detection. The maintenance of high hygienic standards will be needed to continue and improve this control. However, further studies are required to investigate the causes of sustained virus presence and vaccine breaks.

In this cross-sectional study, prevalence of clinical mastitis (PCM) and farm-specific risk factors were determined on 531 doe rabbit farms in Spain and Portugal, from January 2001 through March 2017. The information was obtained by carrying out 2367 visits and doing physical examinations of 144,455 lactating does, sorted in 2635 cohorts. Overall mean PCM was 4.05% (CI 95% [3.87⁻4.22]), (minimum to maximum: 0⁻36.00% PCM). This study suggests that PCM was influenced by the variable number of batches (a batch was a group of does served the same day), per maternity barn ( p < 0.0001). The duo system (does being moved to clean disinfected barns for parturition), was also an enabling risk factor for CM. The day of service or lactation stage also affected PCM. Lastly, there was an effect of the breeds or lines ( p < 0.0001); mean PCM ranged between 1.29% and 7.09%. A subset of data obtained from 200 farms visited during January 2012⁻March 2017, was recorded to describe the use of antimicrobials against mastitis. Changes in host, husbandry, environment, and biosecurity practices, are highlighted to provide health and welfare benefits for breeding rabbits.

In this study we determined mortality in breeding rabbits on 505 commercial farms in Spain during 2006-2014. We obtained our information by carrying out 3278 visits to 490 doe farms (127 also with males), and 877 visits to farms with males, including 132 visits to 15 artificial insemination (AI) centres. The median size of the farms was 769 does (minimum to maximum: 80-9000 does) and 44 males (minimum to maximum: 10-800 males). AI was used on 85% of the 490 doe farms. Females were serviced at 11 days postpartum on 75% of the farms. The mean Monthly Mortality Risk (MMR%) and 95% Binomial confidence interval (CI) in does were 2.82 (2.71-2.93%), and 1.87 (1.41-2.33%) in bucks, over a population of 2,641,709 females and 90,316 males at risk, in the course of the 9-year study; during the 42-day cycle, MMR% was 3.78 (3.67-3.89%). There were 9547 cohorts of females; 41.5% of the does were pregnant and lactating simultaneously, 28.1% only lactating, 17.4% only pregnant and 13% empty and not lactating. The MMR% of does during the last week of pregnancy was 7.05 (6.63-7.47%) and 4.26 (3.90-4.62%) during the 1st week of lactation. Our diagnoses were based on the macroscopic post-mortem examinations performed by a veterinarian on 2065 female rabbits found dead and 368 moribund-euthanized does. In the total 2433 on-farm necropsies on does and 55 males, we found alterations of the respiratory tract compatible with death in 0.70 (0.64-0.76%) MMR% in does, 0.88 (0.56-1.20%) in bucks; and digestive tract in 0.31 (0.27-0.35%) enteritis-diarrhoea, 0.11 (0.09-0.13%) mucoid enteropathy in does and 0.34 (0.14-0.54%) and 0.07 (0-0.16%) in males, respectively. Other primary causes of death were septicaemia, MMR% 0.23 (0.20-0.26%) in does, and 0.10 (0-0.22%) in males, viral haemorrhagic disease 0.22 (0.19-0.25%) in does, and 0.17 (0.03-0.31%) in bucks, metritis, pyometra, or both, 0.21 (0.19-0.25%), and uterine torsion, 0.20 (0.18-0.22%); 1.2 (1.01-1.39%) in the last week of pregnancy. The median age of 2087/2433 necropsied does was 2 parities (minimum to maximum: 1-34 parities) and the mean 3.9. Some changes in housing, feeding and management, to improve breeding rabbit health, are highlighted., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

An ELISA, based on the Sarcoptes scabiei Ssλ20ΔB3 inmunodominant antigen, was evaluated for the detection of antibodies to S. scabiei in experimentally infested (n=10), farm (n=109), and wild (n=78) rabbit sera. The S. scabiei antigen Ssλ20ΔB3, a major structural protein present over the entire mite's body, was produced as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli and purified for its use in the ELISA. The resulting ELISA showed, in experimentally infested domestic rabbits, detectable specific antibody responses (IgG) above the cut off level from week three post-infestation indicating that the assay is able to detect positive rabbits very early during the course of the infestation. The ELISA was validated on a panel of 109 domestic breeding rabbit sera collected from 26 Spanish farms, of which 41 were obtained from rabbits with skin lesions compatible with sarcoptic mange, 26 with skin lesions compatible with psoroptic mange, and 42 from unexposed individuals from mange-free farms. The ELISA in this group was characterized by 95% sensitivity, 97% specificity, and a high degree of repeatability. In the psoroptic mange compatible lesions group, included in the study as control group for cross-reactivity with the closely related mite Psoroptes cuniculi, cross-reacting antibodies to Ssλ20ΔB3 S. scabiei antigen were detected in 42.30% of the rabbit sera. However, mean% OD values of the sarcoptic-mange group (55.61 ± 39.20%) were significantly higher (p<0.001) than OD values of the psoroptic-mange (3.64% ± 5.4%) and also of the free-mange (0.21% ± 0.67%) groups. In addition, the ELISA was also evaluated in serum samples obtained from both naturally infested and non-infested wild rabbits from Mallorca Island. The sensitivity of the assay for this group was 100% (4 out of the 4 rabbits with sarcoptic mange compatible lesions and presence of S. scabiei mites were seropositive) and the specificity was 90% (67 out of 74 wild rabbits without detectable mange lesions were seronegative). Although, the total number of tested samples from experimentally infested, farm and wild rabbits was limited, our study showed that the ELISA is able to differentiate between infested and non-infested animals in all tested groups with very high sensitivity and specificity indicating that recombinant Ssλ20ΔB3 is a reliable diagnostic antigen. This assay might be a cost-effective tool for detecting the presence of mangy animals and therefore helping prevent spread of mange among domestic rabbits, reducing potential transmission from female breeding rabbits to other farms, and detecting infestation with sarcoptic mange in the wild., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Rabbits in conventional farms are housed in wire net cages with mesh floors to separate them from droppings. In time, lacerations appear on the legs of adult rabbits causing ulcerative pododermatitis or sore hocks, a severe health and welfare problem. Pain causes behavioral changes; productivity is reduced and the most seriously affected animals die or are culled. In this study we evaluated the attention producers have given to this problem and its prevention by installing footrests in cages. We made 2,331 visits to 664 commercial farms in Spain and Portugal between 2001 and 2012, and evaluated morbidity by examining 105,009 females and 10,722 males. The study highlights that the rate of farms with footrests increased from 27.8% in 2001 to 75.2% in 2012. Prevalence of sore hocks in does in 2001 was 11.4%, decreasing to 6.3% in 2012; prevention of ulcerative pododermatitis was associated (P < 0.001) with the presence of footrests. Overall, prevalence was 4.87 ± 0.26 on farms with footrests and 13.71 ± 0.32 without (P < 0.01).

Live BW and BCS data were collected from 2,775 breeding rabbits (644 males and 2,131 females) of 34 genetic types and sorted according to their specialization (maternal, paternal, and others). Data were gathered on 66 visits to 43 commercial farms in Spain between 2009 and 2011. Mean BW was 4.72 kg (range of 2.87 to 8.13 kg, with a median BW of 4.60 kg) and mean BCS was 4.6 (range of 1.0 to 9.0, with a median BCS of 5.0). females had heavier (P < 0.05) BW than males and paternal lines of rabbits had greater (P < 0.05) BW than maternal lines and other breeds/lines not selected for meat production. Between 69.3% and 75.4% of the rabbits were deemed healthy by a veterinarian and, as expected, healthy rabbits were heavier (P < 0.05) than sick rabbits diagnosed with rhinitis, mastitis, sore hocks, and several other diseases. Among purebred, maternal lines of rabbits, Hyplus GD24, UPV A, and UPV V were heavier (P < 0.05) than hyplus GD14 and Hyla HL-D lines, and line UPV R had the greatest (P < 0.05) BW among the purebred, paternal lines. Additionally, A×H, A×V, PS19, and P×A crossbreds had greater (P < 0.05) BW than HE-C×D, HL-C×D, H×V, LP×V, and V×P crossbreds among the maternal lines, whereas HE-SL were the heaviest (P < 0.05) crossbred paternal line of rabbits. Additionally, females received greater (P < 0.05) BCS than males and BCS were greater (P < 0.05) in healthy than sick rabbits. Moreover, maternal lines had smaller (P < 0.05) BCS than either paternal lines or other lines/breeds not selected for meat production. Results also indicated a moderate relationship between BCS and BW (r = 0.32), with a 1-point change in BCS equivalent to an ~ 245-g change in BW. results from this study can be used as baseline figures for breeding rabbits in spain and are essential factors in several decisions concerning housing, feeding, reproduction, health, and welfare of breeding rabbits.

The aim was to study relationships between morbidity, defined through prevalence of diseases of rabbit females, and BCS, and to assess the effect of several risk factors on both morbidity and BCS. Our study was based on individual examinations of 18,510 does in lactation on 103 farms. We evaluated BCS on a linear scale from 1 to 9, with 5 being the optimum. Prevalence of major diseases were 22.7%, 4.0%, and 6.4% for coryza, mastitis, and ulcerative pododermatitis, respectively. In addition, prevalence was 3.0% for diseases of minor presentation, including mange, which had a prevalence of 1.9%. The BCS of the R line (selected for growth) was 5.55 ± 0.14, whereas for the A line (selected for litter size) it was 4.40 ± 0.11. Females with more than 20 kindlings had on average a BCS 0.25 ± 0.07 units less than those in the 12th lactation (P = 0.0002). Optimal BCS 4.60 ± 0.11 was reached during the third lactation week. Sick females had a BCS of 0.6 ± 0.01 units less than healthy females. Females with a footrest had on average a BCS 0.19 ± 0.05 units greater than those without. The absence of footrests was an enabling risk factor for ulcerative pododermatitis, the prevalence of which increased by 53%. Ulcerative pododermatitis was associated (P = 0.045) with diet; females consuming a rich energy diet were prone to having this disorder; 1 SD increase in DE (0.32 MJ) determined an increase in ulcerative pododermatitis prevalence of 0.8 percentage points. Diet was not an enabling risk factor for the other diseases. The genetic type to which a female belongs is a predisposing risk factor of disease; P, V and H were also maternal lines, while S group was exclusively formed by maternal lines. With regard to coryza, the S group had the greatest prevalence (44.0%), followed by A, P, R (19.0 to 21.0%); the V line, selected for prolificacy, showed the least prevalence (12.0%). For the case of mastitis although significant (P < 0.05), the magnitude of the differences between disease prevalence was less; R line had a mastitis prevalence of 11.0% while the least prevalence was observed for V does (4.0%). Simultaneous evaluation of both BCS and morbidity on the rabbit farm is recommended for the right assessment of welfare conditions. In this study, the relationships between both variables have been shown, as well as how other intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors modulate these variables; and thus, these factors should be considered during a welfare assessment.

In this study, we determined culling and mortality in adult breeding rabbits on 130 commercial farms in Spain during 2000-2005. The median size of the farms was 595 does (minimum to maximum: 131-5500 does). The median culling age per doe was 14.9 months old and 6 kindlings. The median monthly removal risk (MMR) in does was 9.3%, with 3.4% dead and 5.7% culled (including euthanized does). The MMR was negatively correlated with the degree of intensification of the reproductive rhythm (r=-0.37), age at first mating (r=-0.31) and kindling interval (r=-0.36). The MMR in males was 5.8% (1.2% dead and 4.2% culled or euthanized). Our estimation of the causes of culling does was based on a population of 82,352 does, 50,834 of which were culled or euthanized. The highest causes, calculated using the median of the monthly cumulative incidence (MCI), were 1.3% low productivity (0.9% infertility and 0.4% other causes), 0.5% mastitis, 0.5% poor body condition and 0.3% sore hocks. The causes of culling males were estimated based a population of 6514 males, 5313 of which were culled. The highest causes were 2.0% MCI low productivity (0.9% infertility and 0.5% no libido); 0.3% abscesses, 0.3% sore hocks and 0.2% poor body condition. The mortality and culling risks after first kindling were 8.7% and 7%, respectively. The highest risks of mortality and culling in does occurred during the first three kindlings, but remained stable thereafter. The gestation stage affected mortality; the risk of mortality per day increased as pregnancy progressed. There was a bimodal distribution with a peak of dead females between days 10 and 15 of gestation (0.1-0.2% mortality risk per day (MD)) and another larger peak between days 25 and 33 (0.3% MD). In 1046 on-farm necropsies performed on females we found alterations of the respiratory and digestive tracts compatible with being causes of death in 29.4% and 27%, respectively.

Background: Inguinal hernia uncomplicated in patients aged over 17 years, diagnosis-related group (DRG) 162, generates a substantial number of hospital stays due its high frequency in our country. These stays may not be necessary, and present an important temporal and geographical variability., Material and Methods: We have analyzed a total of 612 days of stay belonging to the 124 admissions codified as DRG 162 during the first quarter of 1993 and 1994, using the "Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol"., Results: The overall mean stay of the DRG 162 was 5.0 days (2.3 days of inadequate stay and 2.7 days of clinically necessary stay). The mean stay in 1993, 5.6 days, was higher than the mean stay in 1994, 4.1 days (p = 0.006). The percentage of inappropriate admission was higher in 1993 than in 1994 (33.8% versus 18.9%; p = 0.06). Similarly, the percentage of inappropriate stay was higher in 1993 than in 1994 (46.9% versus 41.9%; p = 0.06). The more frequent reasons of inappropriate admission was premature admission (88.2%) and for the stay was delay in the discharge medical order (33.3%)., Conclusions: The mean stay of DRG 162, as well as the percentage of inadequate stay and admission, has decreased from 1993 to 1994 in our hospital. According to the observed trend, the mean stay is approaching the adequate mean stay for this DRG.