Pasteurella is of most concern. I guess it can remain viable for up to 12 hours in damp conditions (wet bedding or litter). It can survive 12 minutes or so in dry conditions. It can also be airborne if sneezed into the air. Pasteurella can make rabbits sick or they can be carriers with no symptoms. Not all rabbits have it. Other animals can be carriers too. For some reason, chinchillas seem to be able to tolerate it the least.
This is from chincare.com:
Pasteurella in both rabbits and chinchillas is a frustrating thing to treat. There is no cure, we try to manage the infection through a combination of surgical drainage of abscesses and antibiotic therapy; often times very long courses of antibiotics. Pasteurella can be a dormant infection, especially in rabbits. It is present in the nasal passages of most rabbits and a combination of stress, poor nutrition, etc., can bring about an active infection. It is transmissable when animals are in contact with nasal secretions, pus, etc. Pasteurella also naturally resides in cat saliva.
Warning symptoms are respiratory problems, eye infections. In chinchillas, jaw and tooth root abscesses can occur and when this happens they are given a very poor prognosis; they seem much less tolerant of Pasteurella infections compared to rabbits. If the infection is mild, i.e., sneezing and small amounts of nasal discharge, antibiotics can be helpful. I use Baytril and sometimes a combination of Baytril and Penicillin in rabbits. Generally speaking, if the infections creates abscesses, the prognosis is far poorer. The abscesses can be drained but they typically reform or new ones develop as in the jawline, often leading to osteomyelitis (infection of the bone). I have seen this in chins and the outcome is very bad. The chinchilla becomes very toxic as a result of the overwhelming infection.
In milder cases of infection (upper respiratory infections) even when an animal responds to antibiotics, I always warn owners that the potential exists for the infection to return at some point because it is never truly cured. The bottom line is that Pasteurella is difficult to treat in rabbits, chins and guinea pigs, however chins seem to carry the worst prognosis when they present with this disease.
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Will this work out? Is it even safe?
