Finally spring! But there are also dangers lurking in the tall grass for your beloved four-legged friend.
While it is known that Lyme disease and TBE are transmitted by ticks, anaplasmosis is often the little unknown sister.
What is the danger of anaplasmosis in dogs? And how does this disease manifest itself?
Find out everything you need to know about causes, diagnostics and treatment in this article.
What is anaplasmosis in dogs?
Anaplasmosis in dogs is caused by the bacteria Anaplasma, the in the gut of ticks occur, triggered. They are transmitted when the tick bites.
The veterinary term is canine granulocytic anaplasmosis.
But Anaplasma is not transmitted with every bite from a tick. The tick has to sit on the dog for at least three to four days and suck blood.
Interesting
The young tick ingests the anaplasms from rodents, birds, and other wildlife that act as reservoir hosts serve, on.
The dog can only get infected from an infected tick. The dog owner or another dog cannot get infected from the sick dog.
Anaplasmosis is now found throughout Europe. Everywhere where the tick «Gemeiner Holzbock» can be found.
Interestingly, antibodies to anaplasmosis are found in a third of all dogs.
Many dogs have already dealt with the pathogen and fought it without symptoms.
However, the symptom-free course is not always the norm. Immunocompromised and older dogs have a harder time against the common bacteria.
What Are the Causes of Anaplasmosis?
Anaplasma phagocytophilum is transmitted by the wood tick. They cause the disease anaplasmosis in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).
Anaplasmosis can occur especially in the warm months of the year, when ticks are particularly active.
The anaplasma get into the bloodstream via the bite of the tick. And there they attack the white blood cells.
Anaplasmas have a preference for granulocytes (hence the medical term) and thrombocytes (blood platelets).
In these, the anaplasmas multiply. This destroys them and weakens the dog’s body’s defense system.
The anaplasma also like to settle in the lymphatic system, nerves, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys and lungs.
They get there easily via the bloodstream. And of course they can also cause damage there.
If left undetected, anaplasmosis in dogs that shows severe symptoms can seriously affect their health.
Correctly recognize anaplasmosis
Anaplasmosis in dogs associated with a tick bite and subsequent ones fever, bleeding and paleness is clearly visible to a veterinarian.
However, the incubation period for anaplasmas is 2 days to 2 weeks, which can make diagnosis difficult.
Typical anaplasmosis symptoms include:
- High fever lasting up to 5 days
- Enlarged lymph nodes
- Superficial bleeding
- Punctual bleeding of the gums
- nosebleeds
- anemia (pallor caused by destroyed red blood cells)
The bleeding is caused by the missing, destroyed white blood cells.
If the anaplasmosis in the acute stage is not treated, it can pass over the chronic phase after two to three weeks. Symptoms such as pancytopenia, uveitis, lameness, polyarthritis, and neurological disorders can occur here.
Flares of fever also occur again and again between symptom-free phases. Chronic anaplasmosis can thus lead to negative long-term effects, such as organ damage.
diagnosis
If there is a suspicion of anaplasmosis in the dog, the diagnosis at the veterinarian is usually carried out using the PCR.
Using PCR, the DNA of the anaplasma can be detected in the dog’s blood.
In the dog’s blood count, the lack of thrombocytes and granulocytes can be detected.
Diagnostics with antibody tests, such as the immunofluorescence test, only make limited sense.
Since a third of all dogs have already had contact with anaplasmosis, the antibody test gives no indication of an acute illness with anaplasmosis.
A repeat of the antibody test after 2 weeks would be necessary to detect an increase in the antibody count. This is an indication of an acute illness.
Treatment and therapy of anaplasmosis
A symptomatic anaplasmosis in dogs is always treated by the veterinarian with antibiotics for several weeks.
The antibiotic doxycycline is given for two to three weeks. However, the first relief can be seen after just a few days.
The antibiotic should always be given after feeding. It has an irritating effect on the gastric mucous membranes and the lining protects them.
Otherwise, the vet treats symptoms such as pain, inflammation of the organs and fever.
aftercare
After antibiotic therapy, it is definitely necessary to check the dog’s blood regularly.
It is important here that the anaplasma DNA is no longer detectable and the number of thrombocytes and white blood cells increases.
If this is not the case, the dog must be treated further.
The antibodies against the anaplasma can still be detected for over a year.
In this case, the veterinarian can only see from a drop in the number of antibodies that there is no acute infestation with anaplasma.
Anaplasmosis is curable with timely diagnosis and the dog can live without permanent damage.
Without treatment from the vet, however, the dog can suffer severe damage from anaplasmosis and eventually die.
What is the life expectancy for anaplasmosis in dogs?
If the dog is healthy, anaplasmosis has no effect on life expectancy. It does not matter whether the disease breaks out or runs without symptoms.
How to properly prevent anaplasmosis?
The magic word is tick prophylaxis. Only it prevents or at least significantly reduces the risk of your dog suffering from anaplasmosis.
Unlike Lyme disease and TBE, there is no vaccination against anaplasmosis. So you have to keep the eight-legged bloodsuckers away from your dog.
On the one hand, you can avoid tick risk areas with your darling.
But ticks lurk everywhere in the warm season.
So check your dog for ticks after every walk in the country. If the tick cannot bite or only sits there for a short time, early collection reduces the risk of anaplasma transmission.
In addition, you can protect your darling from the tick having any interest in him at all by various means such as spot-ons, tablets and collars.
Keep in mind that the remedies will deplete over time and you will need to refresh them. A regular search after the walk is therefore always useful.
Yes. It is true that a third of all dogs have been shown to have silently identified the infestation with Anaplasma. Their immune systems were strong.
But two-thirds of dogs do not have antibodies and can therefore also have a symptomatic course.
Therefore, and also due to severe tick infections, you should not forgo protecting your darling from ticks.
Has your dog ever Acquaintance with anaplasmosis made? What is your experience with this disease? Let us be part of it.