Subclinical anaplasmosis in camel (Camelus dromedarius) and its successful therapeutic management

Abstract

On the Indian sub continent, dromedarian camel -'the ship of the desert' is an important constituent of the socio economic life style of nomadic owners in the semi arid to arid ecosystems. The animal suffers from a few parasitic diseases viz. surra, coccidiosis, sarcocystis, gastro intestinal concurrent metazoan infections, mange, nasal bots and ticks infestations. However, anaplasmosis in camel has not been reported so far from the Indian subcontinent. Systematic investigations of a 7 year male Jaisalmeri camel, with a clinical history of dullness, progressive loss of condition and stamina revealed subclinical Anaplasma marginale infection. The animal had depressed haematological indices, dry and constipated bowels, pale and icteric conjunctiva suggestive of anaemia. The animal positively responded to the specific integrated therapy. Reexamination of the animal on day 21 post-therapy revealed depressed haematological indices restored to normal levels and the erythrocytes were free from the pathogen. Neglected attention, poor and/or underreporting of camel diseases vis-a-vis economic significance of the versatile animal has been discussed. This appears to be the pioneer documentation of anaplasmosis in camels from Indian subcontinent.

Blood Parasites in Camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Northern West Coast of Egypt

“…Regarding anaplasmosis, there is such dearth of research on camel anaplasmosis. A. marginale is considered capable of infecting dromedaries [51], and the occurrence of subclinical anaplasmosis was addressed in dromedaries' camels [52]. In the present study, 47.4% of examined camels were harbored anaplasmosis by GSBS, while the overall infection rate recorded by PCR was 67.4% (223/331), of them, 78.9% and 63.1% were found in males and females, respectively.…”

Vector-borne bacteria in blood of camels in Iran: New data and literature review

“…From the genus Anaplasma to date Anaplasma phagocytophilum, A. platys, A. ovis and A. capra have been recognized to infect humans [2][3][4][5]. In camels Anaplasma organisms have been reported in blood smears by light microscopy [6,7] and antibodies against them in blood serum [8,9]. However, so far the only Anaplasma species Anaplasmataceae, spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae, Bartonella spp.…”

“…This paper reviews the current knowledge on camels' tickborne bacteria including microscopy, serology and molecular studies.confirmed by DNA sequencing in camels are Candidatus Anaplasma camelii (genetically close to A. platys), A. phagocytophilum and A. ovis [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Clinical signs of natural infections are described as fever, pale and icteric conjunctiva suggestive of anaemia, dullness, anorexia, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, emaciation, coughing, lacrimation, rough hair coat, abortion, and/or infertility [7,19]. Intramuscular administration of oxytetracycline at 20 mg/kg as specific therapy and injectable B-complex, iron, folic acid and hydroxycobalamin as supportive therapy is the recommended therapeutic regimen [7,19].…”

“…Clinical signs of natural infections are described as fever, pale and icteric conjunctiva suggestive of anaemia, dullness, anorexia, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, emaciation, coughing, lacrimation, rough hair coat, abortion, and/or infertility [7,19]. Intramuscular administration of oxytetracycline at 20 mg/kg as specific therapy and injectable B-complex, iron, folic acid and hydroxycobalamin as supportive therapy is the recommended therapeutic regimen [7,19]. Infection with and antibodies against several species of Rickettsia [20,21], as well as infection with Bartonella [22] and Borrelia [23,24] have been also documented.According to official estimates, around 183,900 camels live in Iran [25].…”

Molecular characterization of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia in ixodid ticks and reservoir hosts from Palestine: a pilot survey

“…In camels, recent studies reported the presence of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia spp. (Sudan et al 2014;Bastos et al 2015). Although decision for treatment can be based on clinical signs and symptoms, yet microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained thin peripheral blood smears was used to demonstrate cytoplasmic morula for diagnosis of ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis.…”