of treatment effort and recovery is rare. It is important to manage immune complex pathology, which can cause significant morbidity. A 7–10-day course of prednisolone at an anti-inflammatory dose (1 mg/kg PO every 24 hours) appears to help recovery and reduce complications associated with ehrlichiosis. (Waner, 2022) Prevention To prevent onward transmission, dogs with suspected or confirmed ehrlichiosis should be treated immediately with a registered acaricide, even when there is no visible tick burden. Inform owners of a future disease risk to other dogs and the need to maintain the E. canis –positive dog on lifelong tick control. Advise treatment of the dog’s home environment by a pest controller. It is important to keep in mind that no product offers 100% efficacy against ticks. (Waner, 2022)
term care, will be expensive, and may eventually prove ineffective. (Australian Government, 2023) Doxycycline at 10 mg/kg PO every 24 hours (or 5 mg/kg every 12 hours) for 28 days is the recommended treatment for ehrlichiosis in acute and chronic forms. Early treatment of acute infection results in better outcomes. Cases treated later in the course of infection do not appear to respond as well. This can result in persistent infections and apparent failures in therapy. The reason for this is unclear but may be associated with bacterial sequestration in the spleen and/or bone marrow. (Waner, 2022) Consider supportive treatments (e.g., blood transfusion, fluid therapy) and treatment of comorbidities, as appropriate. However, chronic ehrlichiosis associated with pancytopenia carries a grave prognosis regardless
Table 2: Relevant Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases in the United States Species of Tick Common Name Pathogen(s)
Regions in the US Where Ticks are Endemic East and Southeast Southern United States, as well as the Atlantic coast to Maine
Amblyomma americanum
Lone star tick
E. chaffeensis, E. ewingii, F. tularensis , Heartland virus, (possibly Bourbon virus)
Amblyomma maculatum Gulf Coast tick
R. parkeri
South and Southeast Coast
Dermacentor andersoni
Rocky Mountain wood tick
R. rickettsii , Colorado Tick Fever virus, F. tularensis
Rocky Mountains, Nebraska, the Cascades and Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges, and northern New Mexico and Arizona Central to East, California, West of the Cascades and Sierra Nevadas, and in states east of, and including, Montana to Texas
Dermacentor variabilis
American dog tick
F. tularensis, R. rickettsii
Dermacentor occidentalis
Pacific Coast tick
Rickettsia 364D
Pacific Coast
Ixodes pacificus
Western blacklegged Tick
B. burgdorferi, A. phagocytophilum (possibly B. miyamotoi)
Pacific Coast, Baja California, but also in areas within Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon Central to East, Eastern and northcentral United States
Ixodes scapularis
Blacklegged tick (deer tick)
B. burgdorferi, B. mayonii, A. phagocytophilum, E. muris eauclairensis, B. miyamotoi, Babesia microti, Powassan virus
Rhipicephalus sanguineus
Brown dog tick
R. rickettsii
Universal (Southwest)*
* R. sanguineus is found throughout the United States but has only be reported to transmit spotted fever rickettsiosis in the southwestern United States and along the US-Mexico border. Source : Tick-Borne Diseases in the United States Conclusion This course has provided a comprehensive and updated overview of important canine tick-borne diseases,
WORKS CITED https://qr2.mobi/Canine-Ticks
including Lyme disease, tick paralysis, canine monocytic ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Through a deeper understanding of these diseases, veterinarians can improve patient outcomes and contribute to the ongoing advancement of veterinary medicine.
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Book Code: VFL1526
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