Clinico-diagnostic and Therapeutic Management of Ehrlichiosis in Dog

Abstract

Background: The research work was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of various diagnostic tests by using conventional microscopic examination, rapid Ab detection test and molecular technique, haemato-biochemical changes, Abdominal organs changes using ultrasonography, and therapeutic efficacy of different treatment protocols on Canine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (CME) infected dogs from in and around Navsari, Gujarat, India. Methods: 69 dogs suspected of ehrlichiosis based on clinical signs and hematological values and then subjected to blood and buffy coat smear examination, rapid Ab detection test and PCR based assay targeting 16S rRNA gene. The pre and post-treatment haematology and biochemical analysis of treatment groups along with all the positive dogs were performed. Further, all the treatment group dogs were subjected to ultrasound for evaluating organ abnormalities. Modified Clinical Sign Grading (MCSG) score for CME-infected dogs was carried out to evaluate therapeutic responses based on minimizing the clinical score. Descriptive statistics along with Student t-test and One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by DMRT was performed to compare differences between means wherever applicable. Result: CME incidence among the 69 suspected cases was 49.28%. Out of 69 suspected dogs, Ehrlichial inclusions or morulae in the monocytes could be identified in only 4.35% of blood smears and 10.14% of buffy coat smears examined by Giemsa and or Field-stained and 15.94% of dogs were found positive for Ehrlichia genus by PCR. 72.5 per cent of dogs were found positive for antibodies to E. canis, out of 40 dogs. The sensitivity of blood smear examination, buffy coat smear examination, and thrombocytopenia was 10.34%, 24.14% and 89.66%, respectively. The specificity of all the diagnostic tests was 100%. The anemia along with leucopenia, were the most significant hematological alteration recorded while ALP, creatinine, and BUN were elevated and albumin was significantly decreased in CME-infected dogs. Significant improvement of haemato-biochemical parameters towards normalcy in both treatment groups. However, a higher percentage of reduction was observed in the clinical score of imidocarb treated CME affected dogs than in the oxy-doxycycline therapy after 14 days.