Main pathologies associated with staphylococcus aureus infections in rabbits: A review

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a versatile opportunistic pathogen that causes a wide spectrum of pathologies. In rabbits, this bacterium infects dermal lesions causing suppurative dermatitis, and invades subcutaneous tissues, causing different well-known disease conditions such as mastitis, abscesses (subcutaneously or affecting internal organs) and pododermatitis. However, the lesions associated with S. aureus have rarely been described in detail in the literature. The aim of this paper is to update the knowledge on rabbit staphylococcosis by focusing mainly on the different pathologies that this organism produces in commercial rabbits.