EN
Fourteen rabbits with natural rhinitis were placed into a pen with a litter of 7 piglets a few hours after farrowing and then kept together for 8 weeks. Nasal swabs were taken from all animals every two weeks and examined for Bordetella bronchiseptica (B.b.) and Pasteurella multocida (P.m.). The ability of P.m. isolates to produce dermonec- rotic toxin was evaluated in an ELISA test. The animals were euthanized and at the necropsies mild, moderate and severe atrophy of the nasal turbinates were found in 1, 8 and 2 rabbits, respectively. In most rabbits histopathological examination revealed neutrophilic infiltration in the mucosa and submucosa of the turbinates, enlargement of the mucous glands and degenerations of the osseous core with an increased number of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, as well as necrotic changes of the osteocytes. P.m. has been isolated from 6 rabbits on several occasions, but only nontoxigenic strains were found. B.b. has been isolated from the nasal cavity of 1 rabbit. The nasal turbinates of all piglets were normal and no other signs of atrophic rhinitis were seen at necropsy. Neither P.m. nor B.b. was isolated from the nasal cavities of the piglets. It was concluded that the rabbits used in the experiment could have been suffering from a disease corresponding to nonprogressive porcine atrophic rhinitis which hardly progresses even from pig to pig.