Suspected outbreaks should be immediately and strictly isolated and infected animals destroyed once a positive diagnosis has been made. Strict hygienic methods should be implemented and a quarantine maintained until the outbreak is completely over. This condition in the guinea pig rather resembles salmonellosis and is characterized by areas of caseation necrosis in tissues such as the mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. The causal organism is Yersinia pseudotuberculosis , and the disease is of some significance in this species. It is usually manifest as a chronic, emaciating disease, with diarrhea and enlargement of the lymph nodes.
Death often occurs in three to four weeks.
Treatment is impractical and affected animals should be destroyed. Spread is through ingestion and may be controlled by strict sanitation. The significance of some of these viruses to the guinea pig itself is as yet undetermined other than perhaps as a difficult to access, potential nuisance in other types of experiments. CMV infection rarely occurs as a generalized disease. This virus has been isolated from kidneys with segmental nephrosclerosis.