Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How common is Ehrlichia co-infection in South African dogs
By Rautenbach, Yolandi et al.·Published in The Onderstepoort journal of veterinary research·2018·Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of canine Babesia and Ehrlichia co-infection and the predictive value of haematology.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 205 dogs diagnosed with babesiosis, a tick-borne infection, was studied to see how often they also had ehrlichiosis, another tick-related illness. The researchers found that only 2% of these dogs had both infections at the same time. They also discovered that normal blood cell counts (specifically white blood cells and platelets) were good indicators that a dog did not have ehrlichiosis alongside babesiosis. This means that if a dog with babesiosis has normal blood counts, it's very unlikely they have ehrlichiosis as well.
People also search for: dog tick-borne infections · babesiosis symptoms in dogs · ehrlichiosis treatment for dogs
Abstract
Canine babesiosis and ehrlichiosis are important tick-borne infections in South Africa. Many South African general veterinary practitioners perceive co-infection with Ehrlichia spp. as a common occurrence in dogs with babesiosis. Studies about the prevalence of co-infection in South African dogs are lacking. This retrospective study aimed to determine the prevalence of Ehrlichia co-infection in dogs with babesiosis. Additionally, the predicative value of specific haematological variables for co-infection was evaluated. The study population consisted of 205 dogs diagnosed with canine babesiosis presented to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH) in 2006 and between 2011 and 2013. The Babesia-infected dogs were grouped based on presence or absence of an Ehrlichia spp. co-infection. Ehrlichia spp. co-infection was confirmed using polymerase chain reaction. Positive and negative predictive values (PPVs and NPVs) of leukopenia or thrombocytopenia for co-infection were also calculated. The prevalence of Babesiaspp. and Ehrlichia spp. co-infection in this cohort of dogs was 2%. In the babesiosis dogs, the PPV of leukopenia for co-infection with Ehrlichia spp. was 1.3%, and the NPV 97.4%. Similarly, the PPV and NPVs of thrombocytopenia for co-infection were 2.1% and 100%, respectively. Co-infection with Ehrlichia spp. was a rare occurrence in dogs with babesiosis presented to the OVAH. Normal leukocyte or platelet counts confidently ruled out the presence of concurrent ehrlichiosis in this cohort of dogs. However, the diagnosis of Ehrlichia co-infection based on the presence of thrombocytopenia or leukopenia would have been associated with false positive results in more than 97.4% of cases.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30326715/