Ehrlichia Canis is an acute or chronic infectious disease caused by Ehrlichia Canis, which mainly occurs in canidae. The main clinical symptoms were fever, vomiting, jaundice, progressive weight loss and severe anemia.
Causes of Ehrlichiosis in Dogs
It is mainly caused by Ehrlichia Canis, and the brown Rhipiceplus sanguineus is the vector of the disease, which transmits the pathogen to healthy dogs by sucking.Ehrlichiosis Symptoms
The incubation period of Ehrlichia infection in dogs is 8 to 20 days, and disease begins when the pathogen has entered the blood and lymphatic reticuloendothelial system of the dog. The symptoms vary according to the age, breed, immune status and pathogen of the dog. The course of the disease generally passes through three stages: acute phase, subclinical phase and chronic phase.Acute phase
"For 2-4 weeks, the dog will have fever, decreased appetite, lethargy, mucopurulent discharge from the nose and mouth, body stiffness, reluctance to move, edema of the limbs or lower abdomen, and cough or difficulty breathing." The disease resistance of the affected dogs was decreased, and the systemic lymph nodes were enlarged, splenomegaly and thrombocytopenia were observed. However, in the acute stage, parasitic ticks can often be found on the surface of the dog.
Subclinical phase
In the acute stage, few dogs died, most of the clinical symptoms gradually disappeared and turned into the subclinical stage, and their body temperature and weight returned to normal. However, there were abnormal blood indicators, such as thrombocytopenia and hyperglobulinemia. The subclinical phase lasted from 40 to 120 days, and the dogs that could not recover were transferred to the chronic phase.
Chronic phase
Sick dogs will show the main symptoms of pernicious anemia and severe wasting. Clinical signs include marked splenomegaly, glomerulonephritis, renal decay, interstitial pneumonia, anterior ocular chromatitis, cerebellar ataxia, and hyperesthesia or paralysis. A dog of the long - headed breed, in which epistaxis is common.
All dogs have symptoms of hematuria, melena, and ecchymosis of the skin and mucosa. The hemogram was severely abnormal, with severe reduction of all types of blood cells and thrombocytopenia. When the disease is co-infected with babesia and Bartonella sanguinalis, the fatality rate is high. Some of the affected dogs had round or oval depilation or coat fracture lesions, and when multiple lesions occurred, they could fuse with each other, with fine scales or obvious crust. There is no itching if there is no secondary infection. There was localized depilation or papules, forming small crusts like blood scabs. Some dogs will depilate the whole body, and the skin is significantly thickened.
