Canine Ehrlichiosis

Canine Ehrlichiosis

Canine Derelictions, also called tropical panicky, is a rickets disease caused by the organism called Erich can and transmitted by ticks. It appears to develop in two stages, the first lasting two to four weeks wherein the dog has depression, loss of appetite, fever, nasal and eye discharges, and a dramatic loss of weight. When the disease is diagnosed in the early stages antibiotics are effective.

Canine Derelictions was first described in dogs in Algeria, Canine Derelictions, a recently recognized disease, has been called tropical canine. It results in fatal hemorrhagic disease in dogs. Some dogs that have recovered from this disease are carriers for over two years later.

The more protracted stage, with blood changes, hemorrhages including nose bleeding, and edema or swelling of the limbs and elsewhere is usually fatal. Concurrent infection with another disease, asbestosis, is not unusual. The same tick spreads both. With the increase of ticks in many areas, derelictions may be very serious. Studies in Maryland indicated 45 percent of the wild raccoons were infected and in Connecticut root percent of adult raccoons in a small sampling were discovered to be infected. This disease has historical significance. In 1890 veterinarians investigating the high mortality of cattle along the route of the great cattle drives from Texas to the Northeast made an important contribution to science.

The names Daniel E. Salmon, Frederick Kilometer, and Theo-bald Smith made history when they proved that ticks transmitted the disease known as Texas fever. It was an outrageous suggestion to medical people the world over to think an insect could spread disease and the three veterinary scientists were ridiculed mercilessly. However, it was their work that suggested to Walter Reed that perhaps mosquitoes transmitted yellow fever, and with that knowledge, the yellow fever-carrying mosquito was controlled and the Panama Canal was completed. It was through their efforts this all insect-transmitted diseases have been recognized and therefore controlled.

Symptoms of Canine Ehrlichiosis

• The signs of the acute stage of canine ehrlichiosis start to show up within three weeks of the bite of the infected tick. The phase usually stays for another two to four weeks.
• When the affected ticks bite the dog the Ehrlichia travels to the white blood cells and multiplies there. Apart from the white blood cells, the germs can also be found in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and bone marrow.
• Due to the incidence of Ehrlichia, the platelets or the part of the blood which helps in the clotting of the blood get destroyed.
• The infection is not fatal for a dog until it enters the subclinical phase. In the sub-clinical phase, the germ stays in the spleen of the dog. The dog would show little symptoms at this stage and the most anemia can be one of the visible signs of the presence of the infection. This sub-clinical stage extends for several months or even for a year.

The chronic stage of the infection is the next stage of the subclinical. During this stage you will find that your affected dog is losing weight, has abnormal neurological signs, anemia, inflammation of the eyes, bleeding, edema or the accumulation of fluid in the hind legs, and even a high fever. Blood tests show a decrease in the number of various blood cells except for the lymphocytes which too have an abnormal appearance. In some severe cases arthritis or a kidney disease known as glomerulonephritis may develop as well.

See more: Disease Transmission in Dog