Detection of mucoid enteropathy syndrome disease in rabbit farms in East China

• Published in: Research in veterinary science 2018-08, Vol.119, p.259-261
• Main Authors: Hu, Bo, Fan, Zhiyu, Wei, Houjun, Song, Yanhua, Qiu, Rulong, Chen, Mengmeng, Xu, Weizhong, Xue, Jiabin, Wang, Fang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Agricultural economics; Animals; Bacteria; Cecal microbiota; Cecum; China; Clinical trials; Colon; Diarrhea; Economic impact; Epizootic rabbit enteropathy; Etiology; Excretion; Farms; Inoculation; Inoculum; Intestinal Diseases - diagnosis; Intestinal Diseases - microbiology; Intestinal Diseases - veterinary; Investigations; Lesions; Microbiota; Mortality; Mucoid enteropathy syndrome; Mucus; Outbreaks; Rabbit; Rabbits; Rabbits - microbiology; Veterinary medicine; Weaning
• ISSN: 0034-5288; 1532-2661
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2018.07.011

During the past years epizootic outbreaks of mucoid enteropathy syndrome (MES) disease have emerged and spread rapidly in rabbit farms in East China causing great economic losses. To investigate the nature and evolution of the disease, two trials were conducted in an attempt to reproduce the disease and to assess the microbiota cecal profile changes associated with the disease. In the first trial, twenty 6-week-old New Zealand White healthy rabbits were assigned randomly to one of two treatments: 1) Inoculation with 2.0 mL of cecal content (inoculum) from dead rabbits affected with MES; 2) No inoculation or control group. In the second trial, V3 - V4 regions of 16S ribosomal genes from three virulent (MES) and two non-virulent (healthy) cecal samples were amplified and sequenced for microbiota genomic characterization. The mucoid enteropathy syndrome was reproduced using a virulent cecal material (inoculum). The mortality rates for treatments 1 and 2 were 70% and 0%, respectively. Clinical signs and gross lesions of affected rabbits consisted of bloated abdomen, cecal impaction, presence of variable amounts of gelatinous mucus particularly in the colon, mucus excretion and diarrhea of low intensity. The disease that emerged in China is similar to the epizootic rabbit enteropathy (ERE) described in Europe. However, microbiota cecal changes associated with the disease differed from those in ERE. Here, a comprehensive analysis of mucoid enteropathy syndrome disease is presented, which should be carefully monitored. •A mucoid epizootic enteropathy syndrome disease emerged in China.•Similar clinical signs have been observed in ERE and MES.•Cecal microbiota profiles of the MES were different to that of the ERE.•Ruminiclostridium and Atopobium species were elevated in MES.•Typical symptoms and lesions can be reproduced in post-weaning rabbits.