Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with ehrlichiosis treated successfully with doxycycline in Sweden
By Bjöersdorff, A et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·1999·Department of Clinical Microbiology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Feline granulocytic ehrlichiosis--a report of a new clinical entity and characterisation of the infectious agent.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 14-month-old shorthaired cat was brought to the vet after showing signs of lethargy, not eating, and rapid breathing for two days. The vet found that the cat had a fever, was dehydrated, and had ticks, along with other blood abnormalities. After starting treatment with intravenous doxycycline and fluids, the cat's temperature returned to normal, and it continued on oral doxycycline for 20 days. The cat showed no signs of relapse during an eight-month follow-up, and this case marks the first known instance of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in a cat.
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Abstract
A 14-month-old shorthaired cat was presented to the Animal Hospital in Skara, Sweden, with a two-day history of lethargy, anorexia and tachypnoea. Clinical examination and laboratory investigations revealed fever, dehydration, tick infestation, neutrophilia with left shift, lymphopenia, hyperglycaemia and intracytoplasmic neutrophilic Ehrlichia inclusions. After treatment with intravenous doxycycline and lactated Ringer's solution the temperature returned to normal. Oral treatment with doxycycline continued for 20 days. The ehrlichiosis diagnosis was confirmed by serology, polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing. No relapse was observed during the eight-month follow-up period. The granulocytotropic Ehrlichia strain found in the cat was later characterised by analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence which showed 100 per cent identity to DNA sequences found in Swedish canine and equine granulocytotropic Ehrlichia strains. This is, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first reported case of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in a cat.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10092038/