Pasteurellosis is considered the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in rabbits and, as a consequence, is a significant complicating factor in biomedical research. The prevention of pasteurellosis in rabbits would remove a major impediment to the use of higher quality rabbits in research. Favorable protection against infection and disease caused by Pasteurella multocida has been reported in laboratory studies of Pasteurella-free rabbits using live streptomycin-dependent vaccines. Hence, such vaccines offer considerable promise in the control of pasteurellosis. A live streptomycin-dependent P. multocida vaccine will be evaluated, in the field, for safety and efficacy. Field evaluation of vaccine efficacy, in preventing infection and disease due to P. multocida, will be conducted at two commercial rabbitries. At one rabbitry, rabbits maintained at the rabbitry will be evaluated; white at the other rabbitry, the University's major supplier, rabbits will be evaluated before and after entry to the University's animal facility. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay will be used to measure immunoglobulin A and G antibodies in serum and nasal secretions. This should provide insight into the mechanism in vaccinated rabbits.
