Vol. 9, Special Issue 8 (2020)

Author(s):
Senthil NR, Chakravarthi R and Vairamuthu S

Abstract:
Canine Ehrlichiosis is globally distributed vector-borne Haemoprotozoan disease in dogs.The present work was based on retrospective study of 11,000 blood smears of dogs received over a period of nine years (2010 to 2019) in and around Chennai at Madras Veterinary College Teaching Hospital. On blood smear examination 3,840 blood smears were found to be positive for various Haemoprotozoan diseases. Among the recorded positive Haemoprotozoan diseases, the highest incidence was of Ehrlichia canis of 2167 cases (56.43%). The percentage change in occurrence of Canine Ehrlichiosis follow the pattern of 2012 (0%), 2013 (-51.9%), 2014 (+84.6%), 2015 (+25%), 2016 (+13.3%), 2017 (+140%), 2018 (18.1%) and 2019 (+4.9%). The most frequent symptoms were fever, anorexia, apathy, abdominal pain, lymphadenopathy and dyspnoea. Regarding haematological alterations, 70.3% of the animals presented anaemia, 58.12% presented thrombocytopenia and 77.3% of animals have Monocytosis. Season-wise occurrence of the disease recorded highest cases in Monsoon (36.31%) followed by Summer (27.69%), Winter (20.26%) and Autumn (15.74%). The prevalence of Canine Ehrlichiosis was highest in Non-descript Dogs (ND) (34.97%), Labrador retriever (25.91%), Spitz (15.28%), German Shepherd (7.25%), Golden Retrievers (5.45%), Pug (4.67), Doberman (3.89%) and others (2.58%) respectively. Maximum number of cases reported were 1,163 cases (53.7%) in the age group of 2-6 years followed by 505 cases (23.3%) in 0-2 years and 498 cases (23%) in above 6 years. The epidemiological study would help the veterinary physician to identify the trends in occurrence of disease and clinical pattern followed by the protozoa, which helps in treatment and control of Canine Ehrlichiosis in dog population.