Have you heard about THIS tick-borne illness in dogs?

Most folks have heard about the zoonotic tick-borne illness, Lyme disease, but many haven’t heard of Ehrlichiosis

🐾 This is a bacterial 🧫 pathogen transmitted via the attachment of a tick

🐾One of the most commonly discussed species in the genus Ehrlichia is E. canis which is transmitted from the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus

🐾 There different phases associated with this disease process; some of the possible clinical signs may include decreased energy or appetite, weight loss and fever 🤒 and some possible serious sequelae include multi-systemic effects such as organ enlargement, blood cell changes, ocular or neurological issues

🐾 The most commonly utilized beside 🛌 antibody test is called 4DX; this result can be confirmed with PCR testing at a reference lab

🐾 Pet Parents🐶 - if you’ve found ticks on your pet or are worried about tick-borne illness, have your pet seen quickly as this disease could have a great prognosis if treated early!

🐾 Vet Staff👩🏻‍⚕️ - please continue educating pet parents on the importance of tick control as this disease does not provide immunity and pets still need to be protected and other serious tick-borne illnesses!

Reference:

1) Veterinary Partner. Veterinarypartner.com

2) Tilley, L. P., & Smith, F. W. (2005). The 5-minute veterinary consult: Canine and feline. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

3) Yin, S. A. (2010). The small animal veterinary nerdbook. Davis, CA: CattleDog Pub.