A population of 731 naturally exposed pet dogs examined at a private practice in Baxter, Minnesota, an area endemic for Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, was tested by serological and molecular methods for evidence of exposure to or infection with selected vector-borne pathogens. Serum samples were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Ehrlichia canis antibodies and for Dirofilaria immitis antigen. Blood samples from 273 dogs were also analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species DNA. Based on the owner history and the attending veterinarian's physical examination findings, dogs exhibiting illness compatible with anaplasmosis or borreliosis were considered clinical cases, and their results were compared to the healthy dog population. Antibodies to only A. phagocytophilum were detected in 217 (29%) dogs; to only B. burgdorferi, in 80 (11%) dogs; and seroreactivity to both organisms, in 188 (25%) dogs. Of 89 suspected cases of canine anaplasmosis or borreliosis, A. phagocytophilum or B. burgdorferi antibodies were detected in 22 dogs (25%) and 8 dogs (9%) respectively, whereas antibodies to both organisms were found in 38 dogs (43%). Ehrlichia canis antibodies and D. immitis antigen were each detected in 11 (1.5%) dogs. Anaplasma phagocytophilum DNA was amplified from 7 of 222 (3%) healthy dogs and 19 of 51 (37%) clinical cases. Seroreactivity to both A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi was detected more frequently in suspected cases of anaplasmosis and/or borreliosis than seroreactivity to either organism alone. Based on PCR testing, A. phagocytophilum DNA was more prevalent in suspected cases of anaplasmosis or borreliosis than in healthy dogs from the same region.

The commercially available in-clinic ELISA could be used by veterinarians to screen dogs for heartworm infection and for exposure to tick-borne pathogens.

Eighteen clinically ill dogs, naturally infected with Anaplasma phagocytophilum, were examined at a veterinary practice in Baxter, Minnesota. A clinical examination, complete blood cell count, enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for A phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Ehrlichia canis antibodies and Dirofilaria immitis antigen, and a polymerase chain reaction test for A phagocytophilum DNA were obtained for all dogs. Physical examination findings included fever, arthropathy, lymphadenopathy, epistaxis, acute gastritis, cervical hyperpathia, and central nervous system dysfunction. Complete blood cell count abnormalities included thrombocytopenia, morulae in neutrophils, anemia, leukopenia, eosinopenia, lymphopenia, and monocytosis. Seroreactivity to A phagocytophilum was found in 61%, B burgdorferi antibodies in 17%, and D immitis antigen in 5% of the dogs. Fever, arthropathy, neurologic dysfunction, and epistaxis are clinical syndromes that can be associated with A phagocytophilum infection. Treatment with doxycycline resulted in rapid resolution of clinical signs in all dogs.

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Canine anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease of dogs that results following infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum or Anaplasma platys. The SNAP 4Dx Plus test (IDEXX Laboratories) and the VetScan Canine Anaplasma Rapid test (Abaxis) are commercial in-house rapid tests for the detection of antibody to these 2 antigenically related Anaplasma species. We evaluated 2 tests using serum and whole blood samples obtained from reference laboratories and veterinary hospitals. Samples were obtained from regions of the country known to be habitats of the primary tick vectors. The A. phagocytophilum sample set comprised 236 dog sera from the northeastern and midwestern United States; the A. platys sample set comprised 179 sera from dogs living in the southwestern United States. An indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test and an A. platys species-specific ELISA were used as reference assays for the A. phagocytophilum and A. platys samples, respectively. The SNAP test demonstrated significantly higher sensitivity (84.7% for A. phagocytophilum and 83.1% for A. platys), compared to the VetScan test (39.0% for A. phagocytophilum and 57.6% for A. platys). The specificity of the SNAP test (95.8% for A. phagocytophilum and 99.2% for A. platys) was significantly greater than the VetScan test (85.6% for A. phagocytophilum and 82.5% for A. platys). In a separate clinic study, conducted within an A. phagocytophilum-endemic state (Minnesota) using 154 whole blood samples from client-owned dogs, the VetScan test was negative for 22 of 39 SNAP and IFA seropositive samples.