Subramanian, HRegu RavindranKAU2019-04-302019-04-301998171370http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810101385PGThe prevalence, immune response and treatment of mite infestation in rabbits of Mannuthy and Thrissur, Kerala were studied in detail during a one year period from August 1997 to July 1998. The total prevalence of mange in rabbits was 56.9 per cent. The prevalence increased as temperature decreased, humidity and rainfall increased. The mite infestation was more prevalent during rainy months of the year. Notoedres cuniculi, Psoroptes cuniculi, Listrophorus gibbus and Cheyletiella parasi tivorax were identified as the four species of mites infesting rabbits. N. cuniculi showed maximum prevalence while C. parasitivorax the least. The New Zealand White rabbits were more prone to mite infestation while crossbreds/local breeds showed least prevalence rate. Whole body extract of P. cuniculi was used for immunization of rabbits. Agar gel precipitation and counter immuno electrophoresis revealed a maximum of three clear strong precipitation lines with the sera from immunized animals. The majority of sera from infested animals produced only single precipitation line. The passive haemagglutination assay revealed a maximum mean serum antibody titre of 1: 12513 against sera from immunized animals while sera from chronically infested animals showed a very low mean titre of1:22. Dermal reaction of the inoculated antigen into the skin of normal, infested and immunized rabbits showed increased skin thickness in all the three groups which was maximum by 12 to 24 hours after inoculation of antigen. The increase in skin thickness was significantly less in normal groups compared to the other two groups. Treatment trials conducted against Notoedric and Psoroptic mange showed that topical application of Karanji oil and single subcutaneous administration of Ivermectin at the dose of 0.3 mg/kg were highly effective in curing mange. Dimilin (Diflubenzuron) was not only ineffective against mange but also increased the severity of lesion and mite number. Ektodex{amitraz) was not 100 per cent effective on single application at 0.6 per cent concentration. Karanji oil which is cheaper and effective than Ivermectin is suitable for small scale farmers in curing rabbit mange.ennullThesis