Did the deadly Meloidosis bacteria infect this rabbit?
“Put the rabbit to sleep.” Mr Tan said in an authoritative tone as he fished out a white rabbit from a pink plastic carrier cage. “It has cancer of the mouth.” His 10-year old daughter was with him and had no choice. A big black globular lump of 3 cm in diameter, hard as a pebble on the shores of the Pasir Ris Beach protruded from the commissures of the left side of its mouth. Yellow pus could be seen on the inner side. The outer area was enveloped by a big hard skin. There was no need to talk much as the pragmatic client had decided that it would be too costly to operate. A brand new replacement rabbit would cost less. “Could it have developed from an original wound inside the mouth or the root of the tooth?” I asked the senior veterinary surgeon. “Was this an infected skin tumour or an encapsulated gangrenous abscess? The blood supply could have been cut off, resulting in the blackened skin discoloration. Or was it a potent bacteria able to kill all tissues under the skin, resulting
