Upper respiratory disease may be underrecognized in hedgehogs
Bottom line
Upper respiratory disease may be more common in hedgehogs’ noses than vets assumed
Respiratory disease in European hedgehogs sent to rehabilitation is often investigated as a lung problem, but a new Veterinary Pathology study suggests the upper airway deserves much more attention. In necropsies of 50 rehabilitating hedgehogs that died after showing respiratory signs, 56% had upper respiratory tract disease, according to the study abstract provided by the journal. Additional background from the authors’ earlier project updates suggests upper and lower respiratory disease were found at broadly similar rates in this population, with upper airway cases often presenting as severe rhinitis associated with gram-negative bacterial colonies, and with trauma, dental disease, or foreign bodies considered possible contributors. The work comes from Yannick Van de Weyer, Steve Bexton, and Joanna Mihr, with links to the University of Liverpool and RSPCA wildlife rehabilitation centers. (ewda.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, especially those handling wildlife casualties or advising rehabilitators, the study is a reminder not to anchor on pneumonia alone when a hedgehog presents with tachypnea, lethargy, or other respiratory signs. Prior literature already showed respiratory disease is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in European hedgehogs in rehabilitation, and recent work has highlighted how frequent parasitic lower respiratory disease can be. This new paper appears to widen the diagnostic frame: nasal cavity disease, rhinitis, oral disease, trauma, and mixed or secondary bacterial processes may all be part of the picture, which could affect workups, treatment decisions, and prognosis discussions. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
What to watch: Watch for the full paper’s methods and organism-level findings to shape how wildlife hospitals prioritize nasal and oral exams, imaging, microbiology, and triage protocols in hedgehogs with respiratory signs. (ewda.org)
Key facts
- Study type
- Veterinary Pathology study
- Species
- European hedgehogs
- Population
- 50 rehabilitating hedgehogs that died after showing respiratory signs
- Main finding
- 56% had upper respiratory tract disease
- Upper airway presentation
- Severe rhinitis with gram-negative bacterial colonies
- Possible contributors
- Trauma, dental disease, or foreign bodies
- Lower airway findings in earlier update
- Verminous pneumonia and tracheitis were most common
- Institutional links
- University of Liverpool and RSPCA wildlife rehabilitation centers
Upper respiratory disease may be more common in hedgehogs’ noses than vets assumed
A new study in Veterinary Pathology is pushing European hedgehog respiratory disease beyond the usual focus on the lungs. Based on the journal abstract provided, investigators necropsied 50 rehabilitating hedgehogs that died after showing respiratory signs and found that 56% had upper respiratory tract disease. That’s notable because upper airway investigations in these cases have historically been limited, even though respiratory disease is a well-recognized cause of illness and death in hedgehogs entering rehabilitation. (ewda.org)
The study, by Yannick Van de Weyer, Steve Bexton, and Joanna Mihr, builds on a broader line of hedgehog respiratory research linked to the University of Liverpool and RSPCA rehabilitation centers. A 2025 project update from the European Wildlife Disease Association described a final hedgehog study cohort of 55 animals undergoing comprehensive pathological and microbiological investigation of the cardiorespiratory tract. In that update, upper and lower respiratory tract disease were described as almost equally represented, at roughly 45% to 55% prevalence in the targeted population. (ewda.org)
That background matters because the lower airway has already received more attention in the literature. A 2023 Veterinary Pathology paper on verminous pneumonia described lungworm-associated pneumonia as a frequent infectious disease in hedgehogs submitted for postmortem examination. Separately, a 2026 parasitology paper involving several of the same institutional partners reported high rates of respiratory nematodes in rehabilitating hedgehogs, underscoring how easy it is for clinicians to center lungworm and lower respiratory disease in their differential list. (livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk)
What seems different here is the emphasis on the upper airway. In the EWDA update, upper respiratory tract disease often manifested as severe rhinitis with gram-negative bacterial colonies, with trauma, dental disease, or foreign bodies flagged as possible contributors. The same update noted that verminous pneumonia and tracheitis were the most common lower respiratory findings, and that some respiratory disease could be linked to systemic salmonellosis. Taken together, that suggests many hedgehogs with respiratory signs may have multifactorial disease rather than a single, straightforward pulmonary process. (ewda.org)
I didn’t find a separate institutional press release or outside comment specifically on this newly published paper. But the wider rehabilitation literature supports the clinical relevance. Reviews and retrospective studies from Portugal, Italy, and Switzerland have consistently identified respiratory disease among the common reasons hedgehogs are admitted, die, or are euthanized in care. RSPCA rehabilitation guidance for veterinary teams also points to lungworm as a common cause of cough in underweight hedgehogs, illustrating the current clinical baseline that this new paper may now complicate. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the practical takeaway is to broaden the workup when a hedgehog arrives with respiratory signs. This paper suggests the nasal cavity and other upper airway structures may be involved more often than expected, particularly in animals from rehabilitation settings that may also have trauma, poor body condition, oral disease, parasite burdens, or secondary bacterial infection. That could influence decisions around sedation for oral and nasal examination, imaging, sample collection, antimicrobial stewardship, and expectations for recovery or release. The study is also a reminder that wildlife respiratory disease can reflect overlapping pathology, not just one dominant diagnosis. (ewda.org)
There’s also a systems angle. Britain and the Channel Islands have a large, fragmented hedgehog rehabilitation community, and prior survey work suggests recordkeeping and diagnostic capacity vary widely across centers. If upper respiratory disease is being underrecognized, standardized triage pathways and referral thresholds could become more important, especially for centers without ready access to imaging, pathology, or microbiology. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
What to watch: The next step is whether the full paper’s histopathology and microbiology data translate into practical diagnostic algorithms, including when to suspect rhinitis over primary pneumonia, which organisms are most consistently recovered, and whether findings support changes in treatment or rehabilitation protocols. (ewda.org)