Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Anaplasma infection testing in Portuguese dogs with tickborne disease
By Santos, A S et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2009·Centro de Estudos de Vectores e Doenç·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serological and molecular survey of Anaplasma species infection in dogs with suspected tickborne disease in Portugal.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 55 dogs in Portugal showing signs of tickborne disease were tested for Anaplasma infections, a type of bacteria spread by ticks. Out of these dogs, 30 tested positive for antibodies, indicating past exposure, and five had signs of an active infection. However, while DNA testing found evidence of Anaplasma species, it did not confirm the presence of the initially suspected type, Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Instead, it identified Anaplasma platys, which can also affect dogs. This suggests that dogs with tickborne symptoms may have different types of Anaplasma infections than expected.
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Abstract
Fifty-five dogs with suspected tickborne disease were tested by immunofluorescence assay and PCR for Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection. Thirty (54.5 per cent) of the dogs were seropositive and five of them fulfilled the serological criteria for an active infection, with either seroconversion or a fourfold increase in antibody titres. Fragments of DNA of the expected size were detected by PCR in two seropositive and three seronegative dogs. However, direct amplicon sequencing failed to identify active A phagocytophilum infections, but revealed the presence of Anaplasma platys DNA in the PCR-positive animals.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19202169/