Rabbits and hares with dysautonomia develop cecal impactions, anorexia, and listlessness; death may occur in weanlings. The disease has been described in rabbits with mucoid enteropathy. The etiology is unknown.
Leporine dysautonomia occurs in rabbits and wild hares, and fatal cases have been reported in the UK.
Clinical signs include decreased appetite, bilateral mydriasis, dryness of mucous membranes and conjunctiva, loss of anal tone, bradycardia, urinary incontinence, proprioceptive defects, cecal impaction, and abdominal bloat.
Oculomotor nucleus of a case of dysautonomia in a rabbit. Asterisks denote chromatolysis of lower motor neurons. H&E stain; original magnification, 200X.
Courtesy of Dr. Caroline Hahn.
Gross lesions are similar to those of equine dysautonomia, including gastric distention, colonic impaction, and weight loss. Mesenteric autonomic ganglia show chromatolysis-like degenerative changes, similar to the lesions detected in equine grass sickness (see ).
Response to supportive treatment is generally poor.
