Use of real‐time quantitative PCR to document successful treatment of Mycoplasma haemocanis infection with doxycycline in a dog

Abstract

An 8-year-old Jack Russell Terrier was diagnosed with hemolytic anemia caused by hemoplasmosis 4 years following splenectomy. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis was used initially to confirm infection with Mycoplasma haemocanis and subsequently to monitor and direct medical therapy. Doxycycline was administered beyond resolution of clinical signs until hemoplasma DNA could no longer be detected by qPCR. The dog remained clinically healthy and hemoplasma-negative 8 months following cessation of therapy. Canine hemoplasmosis should remain as a differential diagnosis for hemolytic anemia in dogs, particularly those that are splenectomized or immunocompromised, even in geographic regions where prevalence of infection is low. Prolonged doxycycline administration has been shown by qPCR to lead to sustained absence of detectable infection and should be considered as a first line treatment for canine hemoplasmosis.

Infectious agent screening in canine blood donors in the United Kingdom

“…Pitorri et al . () identified M. haemocanis infection based on blood smear evaluation and real‐time PCR in a dog that had no history of travel to countries where R. sanguineus is prevalent; they hypothesised that, living in the south of the UK where R. sanguineus is occasionally identified, the dog in question may have been exposed to the suspected vector. However, it is also possible that other species of ticks can be involved in transmission.…”

Update on Feline Hemoplasmosis

“…In case reports of canine and human hemoplasmosis with clinical remission and apparent clearance of infection, as demonstrated by serial PCR testing, treatments have comprised extended administration of either tetracycline alone 65 or combinations of tetracycline and fluoroquinolone 61 . A dog infected with M. haemocanis was administered doxycycline for nearly 3 months 65 . A second canine case infected with M. haemocanis, clinically responded to extended courses of antibiotics (2 months oxytetracycline followed by 8 months enrofloxacin), although persistent clearance of infection was not achieved 66 .…”

Vaccination of Immunocompromised Cats

“…Asplenia is rare in cats and mainly occurs after iatrogenic removal of the spleen. Asplenia is more common in dogs, and dogs without a spleen are at increased risk of developing clinical manifestations of bacterial or parasitic infections that are otherwise usually asymptomatic, such as infections with Mycoplasma haemocanis [ 110 , 111 , 112 ]. In addition, novel bacterial or parasitic species have been detected in asplenic dogs, such as a new haemoplasma species ‘ Candidatus Mycoplasma haematoparvum’ [ 113 ] or a new large Babesia spp.…”