Clinical manifestations of infectious canine cyclic thrombocytopenia

Abstract

This paper describes five naturally occurring clinical cases of infectious canine cyclic thrombocytopenia that were the first serologically confirmed cases of Ehrlichia platys infection in Israel. In the USA this disease is considered subclinical, but the dogs in this study developed distinct clinical abnormalities. The signs observed by the owners included anorexia, lethargy, depression, weight loss and a mucopurulent nasal discharge. The principal findings on physical examination included lymphadenomegaly, pale mucous membranes, fever and the presence of ticks. The main abnormal haematological and biochemical findings included thrombocytopenia, the presence of giant platelets, low haematocrit, monocytosis and low albumin concentrations. All five dogs were less than two years of age, and four were purebred dogs, suggesting that these two factors may be associated with increased risk to infection and clinical disease. Two of the dogs were seropositive to E canis, a finding which is compatible with other reports, and which confirms that combined infections of E platys and E canis are common; it also suggests that E canis infections may contribute to the pathogenesis of E platys. The distinct clinical manifestation of the disease in these five dogs suggests that there may be a different, more virulent strain of E platys in Israel.

Hematological values associated to the serological and molecular diagnostic in cats suspected of Ehrlichia canisinfection

“…Clinical and laboratory manifestations suggestive of ehrlichiosis have been reported in cats (BREITSCHWERDT et al, 2002) and, unlike CME, little is known about the pathogenesis or immunopathological implications resulting from chronic infection in cats (SHAW et al, 2001). The PCR results revealed that positive cats have a tendency for lymphopenia (p= 0.07), a finding that is commonly reported in animals in the acute phase of infection (HARRUS et al, 1997). The evaluation of the positive cats indicated that most of them presented thrombocytopenia, which is consistent with the findings of Oliveira et al (2009).…”

Occurrence of Ehrlichia canis and Anaplasma platys in household dogs from northern Parana

“…Alternatively, no positive association UENO et al, 2009). These hematological differences might be directly related to the phase of infection at the time of sampling (HARRUS et al, 1997;BULLA et al, 2004), or a manifestation of the diverse pathogenicity of the strain (DAGNONE et al, 2003). Thrombocytopenia, which is also frequently associated with CME, occurred in 59.52% (25/42) of the dogs evaluated during this study (Table 3), but it was only observed in 36.58% (75/205) of dogs that were PCR-negative for E. canis.…”

“…One of the hematological alterations frequently observed in dogs diagnosed with CME is anemia, which is usually normocytic, normochromic, and nonregenerative, suggesting restricted or no bone marrow response (HARRUS et al, 1997;BULLA et al;BORIN et al 2009;GAUNT et al, 2010). These hematological alterations in this anemic disease are probably caused by the combined or isolated effects of the reactions induced by the monocyte-phagocyte system, cell lysis due to the action of the complement system, and suppression of erythropoiesis in the bone marrow are the mechanisms responsible for the table identified as anemic disease (MOREIRA et al, 2003).…”

Molecular and serological detection of tick-borne pathogens in dogs from an area endemic for Leishmania infantumin Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

“…Furthermore, A. phagocytophilum also has been detected molecularly in dogs in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (SANTOS et al, 2011). Although dogs infected with A. platys and A. phagocytophilum usually present mild symptoms or are asymptomatic (HARRUS et al, 1997;KOHN et al, 2008;RAR;GOLOVLJOVA, 2011), some cases may be serious or fatal, particularly when co-infections are involved (DANTAS-TORRES, 2008). The confirmation of the occurrence of E. ewingii ) and A. phagocytophilum (SANTOS et al, 2011) in dogs from Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, respectively, showed that other Anaplasmataceae agents circulate among dogs in Brazil, although the vector tick species involved in these transmission routes remains unknown.…”