Ehrlichiosis in Dogs

Have your dog ever passed bloody diarrhea without any foul odor? Then, your dog may suffer from Ehrlichiosis. Most of the dog owners are not aware of this disease and may allow the dog to suffer like anything from canine ehrlichiosis.

What is Canine Ehrlichiosis?

Ehrlichiosis is an infectious rickettsial disease characterized by reduction in cellular blood elements. Canine Ehrlichiosis is caused by E.canis, E.equi, and E.platys. E.canis mostly affects monocytes and lymphocytes. The disease produced by Ehrlichia canis in canines is also called as canine typhus, tropical pancytopenia, Nairobi bleeding disease, idiopathic hemorrhagic syndrome and tracker dog disease.

Canine ehrlichiosis is a tick borne disease and the causative organism is located intra-cytoplasmically within a plasma-lined membrane in leucocytes. Ehrlichiosis is noticed in almost all age groups and male dogs are affected 1.5 times more than the females.

Symptoms

Acute phase is characterized by depression, anorexia, fever, weight loss, ocular, and nasal discharges, and Dyspnea. The typical symptom of ehrlichiosis in dogs is legs swelling. Sometimes edema in scrotum also being noticed.

Central nervous system signs like muscle twitching, hyperaesthesia, etc as a result of inflammation in the membranes of the brain also being noticed. Epistaxis (bleeding from nose) is considered to be the hallmark of the disease and it occurs infrequently.

Chronic signs include abdominal tenderness, anterior uveitis, retinal hemorrhage etc. Secondary bacterial infections like babesia are also noticed. Affected puppies may remain as carriers for long time.

Diagnosis

Microscopic detection of E.canis is usually advocated to determine the parasite.

Treatment

Tetracyclines are the most effective drug for the treatment of canine ehrlichiosis. The commonly used drug is tetracycline and doxycycline. Sometime Imidocarb also used to treat the E.canis.

Prevention

Regarding control of Ehrlichiosis, tetracyclines at low dose is being practiced. This can be tried in dogs traveling in enzootic areas. Tick control can be encouraged by using acaricides, but does not provide an effective means of preventing the canine ehrlichiosis.