Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog in Japan diagnosed with Ehrlichia canis infection without travel
By Igarashi, Hirotaka et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2024·Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Azabu University, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A canine case of Ehrlichia canis infection without a history of being in an endemic area in Japan.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old male mixed-breed dog was brought to the vet with low white blood cell and platelet counts, which can lead to serious health issues. Despite never having traveled outside of Tokyo or Shizuoka, tests revealed he had an infection from Ehrlichia canis, a tick-borne disease. The vet performed surgery to remove the spleen to confirm the diagnosis, and the dog was treated with doxycycline for five weeks. Thankfully, after treatment, he showed no signs of relapse or further infection for three years.
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Abstract
A mixed-breed, 8-year-old male dog developed neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and hyperglobulinemia. Bone marrow hyperplasia and splenic plasmacytosis were cytologically observed. The dog had never been outside of Tokyo or Shizuoka Prefecture. Splenectomy was performed to confirm and remove the cause of splenic plasmacytosis. A histopathological diagnosis of splenic plasmacytoma was made; however, serum protein electrophoresis showed polyclonal gammopathy. Further screening was performed, and Ehrlichia canis infection was confirmed. The dog was treated with doxycycline for 5 weeks. After the antibiotic therapy, no relapse of neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, hyperglobulinemia, or positive polymerase chain reaction result of E. canis infection was observed for 3 years. Careful attention should be given to ehrlichiosis when exploring the cause of pancytopenia or hyperglobulinemia, regardless of the travel history.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38355119/