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What is Ehrlichia?
It is a disease also known as tick fever, tracker dog disease, canine hemorrhagic fever, canine typhus and tropical canine pancytopenia. Ehrlichia (Ehrlichia canis, E. equi, E. platys, E. ewingii) is from a group of bacteria called rickettsial organisms which are in between the size of viruses and bacteria. They are gram negative and like viruses must live and reproduce inside the cells of animals.
Canine ehrlichiosis is found worldwide and infects dogs and other wild canines. Other rickettsial diseases include: Rocky Mountain Fever, Q fever, epidemic and endemic typhus, and trench fever.
How does my dog get it?
It is transmitted through the bite wound from a brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus in either its mature or immature form.
Am I at risk?
Humans can get ehrlichia from the brown dog tick as well but CANNOT become infected from an infected dog. The brown dog prefers dogs as their host versus humans. If you have any concerns regarding yourself or other human members of your family, please contact your family physician at once.
How is it diagnosed?
The disease is diagnosed by blood tests. The test looks for antibodies to the disease, because of this; it takes time for the pet’s body to make antibodies in response to the bacteria. This means that the test can be negative early in the disease so may require two tests 2 weeks apart.
What are the symptoms?
There are three phases to the infection: acute phase, subclinical phase, and chronic phase. The acute phase occurs 1-3 weeks after the tick bite as the bacteria reproduces inside of the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, blood and bone marrow. This leads to the following symptoms: enlargement of the liver, spleen and lymph nodes, anemia, weakness or listlessness, fever, inappetence, joint swelling and pain, shortness of breath and nose bleeds. The subclinical phase is a period of time fairly absent of clinical signs other than mild anemia. If the pet’s body does not clear the infection on its own at this stage, the disease will progress to the dangerous chronic phase. The chronic phase is often seen 1-4 months after the tick bite. This phase if untreated can be fatal to the patient. It can been punctuated by the following signs: fever, weight loss, anemia, nose bleeds, spontaneous bleeding anywhere (due to the destruction of platelets), neurological signs, eye inflammation and pain and swelling of the hind limbs. The blood tests may indicate the decrease of all blood cells: red blood cells (anemia) white blood cells and platelets; abnormal appearance of the white blood cells (these leukocyte changes sometimes are confused with the cancer called leukemia), decrease in albumin (main blood protein), and elevation in overall antibody level (globulin). Bear in mind that other tick borne disease are occasionally diagnosed at the same time such as haemobartonella or babesiosis.
What are the treatments?
The main treatment of Ehlrichia is either the antibiotic Tetracycline or Doxycycline. Depending upon the severity of the clinical signs, sometimes the patient may require hospitalized therapy and possible blood transfusion.
How long will my dog be treated?
Typically the treatment is 2-3 weeks in duration.
What is the Prognosis?
If treatment and diagnosis is obtained in the acute phase is generally good; however, in the chronic phase has a guarded to poor prognosis. Doberman Pinschers and German Shepherds often have more severe symptoms and thus may have a more guarded prognosis. Please note that every case may be different. If your pet has, or may have this disorder, please contact your veterinarian to obtain a specific prognosis.
Is there prevention?
Tick prevention is the focus of Ehlrichia prevention as currently no vaccine exists. For a list of products and how to use them, please contact our office and ask one of our friendly team members.
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