Endoparasites of rabbits and hares.

Nematode, cestode, protozoan, microsporidian, and pentastomid parasites affect domesticated and wild rabbits, hares, and jackrabbits of the genera , , , , and . Some endoparasite infections are of limited or no significance, whereas others have potentially profound consequences. Accurate identification of endoparasites of rabbits, hares, and jackrabbits is an important facet of the work of veterinary pathologists engaged in lagomorph pathology. Here I review endoparasites from the pathologist's perspective, focusing on pathogenesis, lesions, and implications of infection. Stomach nematodes and are infrequently pathogenic but may cause gastritis and gastric mucosal thickening. Nematodes , spp., spp., and spp. are rarely associated with disease. Adult (syn. ) nematodes and non-embryonated eggs cause granulomatous hepatitis in wild and , resulting in multifocal, off-white, hepatic lesions, which may be misdiagnosed as hepatic eimeriosis. When the rabbit is an intermediate host for carnivore cestodes, the space-occupying effects of and may have pathologic consequences. is a major cause of white-spotted liver in , particularly in juveniles. Enteric coccidiosis is a noteworthy cause of unthriftiness in young animals, and frequently manifests as diarrhea with grossly appreciable multifocal off-white intestinal lesions. is the natural host for the zoonotic microsporidian . Infection may be acute and focused mainly on the kidneys, or it may follow a chronic disease course, frequently with neurologic lesions. A latent carrier status may also develop.