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Subject: Re: Ehrlichiosis--Here's the scoop and it's not pretty
From: adame@venice.dh.trw.com (Lynda Adame)
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian
Date: 6 Aug 1996 23:13:55 -0700
Hi All -
Kamm2MacD (kamm2macd@aol.com) wrote:
: 3months or so ago an aging gelding in my mare's field came down with what
: the vet felt was erlichiosis... was caught early, so he only reached about
Ehrlichiosis is treatable if caught early and can be devastating
and deadly if left unchecked. It is treated with high doses of Tetracy-
cline or Doxicycline....no other antibiotics will work against this disease.
: troubles, my gelding was starved for a year...) and the vet felt that it's
: a disease not easily caught by healthy horses who are looked after
Yes, and no. A compromised immune system will definitly allow the disease
to take over, but if exposed, the disease will sit quietly and wait for
the animal to become immune-compromised, stressed, over-worked, otherwise
ill, or treated with corti-co steroids and can then kick in at a much later
date than initial exposure.
: daily... (all of these horses are well cared for, sprayed daily, searched
: for ticks in season...) Also said that it has about a 14 day incubation
Ehrlichia equi is passed via ticks, Ehrlichia risticci has unknown vectors
but research indicates biting flies/fleas and horse manure as vectors.
As far as the tick-borne Ehrlichias, the ticks need feed 24-48 hours to pass
Ehrlichia onto the mammal....one single tick can carry Ehrlichia, Lyme,
Rocky Mt, Spotted Fever, Babesiosis, and other tick diseases.
: ... I did NOT get it!!
Thank goodness for that. In a seperate post, I'll post an Ehrlichia info
sheet. Although was written for dog owners, many of the same symptoms,
info and test labs still hold true for horses.
Lynda
adame@venice.dh.trw.com
From: adame@venice.dh.trw.com (Lynda Adame)
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian
Subject: Re: Ehrlichiosis--Here's the scoop and it's not pretty
Date: 6 Aug 1996 23:15:30 -0700
EHRLICHIOSIS
=============================================================
Lynda Adame adame@venice.dh.trw.com 6/19/96
What Is It: Ehrlichiosis is a tick-borne rickettsial infectious blood
disease. The organism is called Ehrlichia, the disease is
called Ehrlichiosis.
Species: Ehrlichia canis, Ehrlichia risticii
Primary Vector: Brown Dog Tick (must feed a minimum of 2 -3 days to transmit)
for E. canis.
Horse manure and other unknown sources for E. risticii.
Other Vectors: Deer tick, blood transfusion, contaminated needles and
instruments, transplacental.
Diagnosis: There are two tests being used by Veterinarians to detect
infection:
1) The IFA (Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Assay) test is used
to detect the presence of antibodies to the disease in a
dogs blood serum. This test will determine a titer level;
less than 1:40 is considered Negative (minimal exposure),
a titer above 1:80 is considered Positive for an active
infection. The IFA is considered the most reliable test
for detecting infection. Ehrlichia titers can climb much
higher than Babesia titers.
2) The Giemsa Smear is used to locate the actual organism in
the dogs blood. Despite appropriate staining technique
and intensive film examination, the organisms frequently
cannot be found.
Titer info: Titers counts double: 1:10, 1:20, 1:40, 1:80, 1:160, and so
on.
A high titer can be caused by repeated exposure to the
disease, a large number of active organisms in the blood, or
a better immune system response of a specific dog. (i.e. a
dog responds naturally with more antibodies than another dog).
Titer is an indication of exposure to a specific foreign
protein. It does not indicate that there are active organisms
in the blood.
Comments: Ehrlichiosis is believed to go through patent and dormant
periods, much like Babesiosis does. It has been the experie-
nce of people who have owned many Ehrlichia infected dogs,
that this disease does not remain dormant, it slowly and
steadily grows within the dogs system. If used soon enough,
both Tetracycline and Doxicycline (at variable treatment
lengths) have a 98% success rate at curing dogs of Ehrlichio-
sis.
Phases: Acute - This phase is of short duration, and is where the dog
is initially infected with the disease. If the dog does not
die outright from the infection, then it moves on to the next
phase.
Subclinical - This phase can last months or years. It is
characterized by a fine equilibrium between the parasite and
the immune system of the host. This equilibrium can be
disturbed by a number of things: environmental stress,
additional diseases/infections, (especially Babesiosis),
immunodeficiency, spleen removal, surgery, stress, hard work,
imunosuppressive treatment, use of corticosteroids (Prednisone
is a no-no).
The dog may exhibit few clinical symptoms during this phase,
beyond intermittent fever and loss of appetite. If the
equilibrium is disturbed, the parasite will begin to slowly
grow in number and the dog will move into the next phase.
Infected Greyhounds are often in this phase when they are
adopted out.
Chronic - If the dogs system remains unable to clear the
parasite, it enters this final phase.
The most obvious initial signs to an owner are a cycle of:
lethargy, loss of interest in food, and a gradual loss of
body condition especially evident around the eyes and along
the spine.
Other symptoms are:
hemorrhaging even when blood count looks normal, clotting
problems, seizures, muscle wasting, skin infections,
neurological signs (repetitive obsessive actions, or palsy),
diarrhea, low Platelet count, vomiting, hyper reflective
eyes, low White Blood Cell count, anemia, glomerulonephritis,
bleeding from the nose or eyes, ocular signs, arthritis,
weakness, pallor, incontinence, pneumonia, cough, kidney
failure, increased thirst and urination, incoordination, neck
or back pain, bleeding under the skin or a rash (purpura),
swelling of the legs or joints, enlarged lymph nodes,
irreversible bone marrow suppression.
Misdiagnosed as: reticulosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, brucellosis,
blastomycosis, thrombocytopenia, endocarditis, immune mediated
disease, myelophthisis, cancer of spleen or liver, Valley
Fever, plasma cell myeloma, leukemia.
Treatment: Doxicycline at 11 mg/kg b.i.d. for 2 - 4 weeks, or longer.
OR
Tetracycline 22 - 33 mg t.i.d. (oral) for 2 - 4 weeks or
longer.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here are two Labs that perform the IFA test:
Protatek Reference Lab
574 E. Alamo St.
Suite 90
Chandler, AZ 85225
(602) 545-8499
Instructions for Tick Fever Panel:
Draw 3cc of blood, use a serum-separation tube, spin down, refrigerate until
mailing. Try to mail early in the week, ship tube upright in ice and use
priority mail.
Corning Clinical Lab
P.O. Box 305125
Nashville, TN 37230
No instructions available.
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