Eileen Stein Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 I took my 9yo to the vet this morning for digestive issues. Had a SNAP 4dx test done, which was negative for heartworm and ehrlichiosis, and weakly positive for Lyme (no surprise to me) and anaplasmosis. Blood was drawn and will be sent to the lab -- I should get those results tomorrow or Monday. The vet said she was inclined not to credit the anaplasmosis finding because it's "something we almost never see around here." Has anyone had any experience with anaplasmosis, or with a positive SNAP test result for anaplasmosis, especially in the mid-Atlantic region? I am not familiar with the disease at all, but I gather it's tickborne and similar to ehrlichiosis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Eileen, You've probably already done your own search, but here's a Lyme disease site that has a section on anaplasmosis. From Dogsandticks.com comes this: Canine Anaplasmosis [ an-uh-plaz-moh-sis ] Sometimes referred to as dog fever, or dog tick fever, canine anaplasmosis is caused by the bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum or is transmitted by the deer tick (often referred to as the black-legged tick)—the same tick that transmits Lyme disease. Another form of Canine Anaplasmosis is caused by the Anaplasma platys bacterium carried by the brown dog tick. Although these two forms of Anaplasmosis present with different signs, both may pose a serious threat to your dog's health. Most common signs of canine anaplasmosis: Arthritis-like stiffness with painful joints High fever accompanied by lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea Neurological signs (infrequent) resulting in seizures and neck pain U.S. Regions Where Canine Anaplasmosis May Affect Your Dog Canine anaplasmosis is found throughout the United States, primarily in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic and north-central states, as well as in California. It seems the treatment is the same as for other TBDs (namely doxy). I think I'd go ahead and treat for it just to be safe. And from this Companion Animal Parasite Council site I found that what is now called Anaplasma phagocytophilum used to be called Ehrlichia equi or Ehrlichia phagocytophila. So a new name for an "old" disease. Heck, and I was just getting used to the Neorickettsia designation for Ehrlichia spp.. The joys of ever-ncreasing knowledge in the science of TBDs.... J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaBluez Tess Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Eileen Carol Campion would be a great resource on this topic.... Diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy Chittenden Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 http://saluqi.home.netcom.com/ticklinks.htm is a good resource for reading about all of the tick borne diseases out there. I think the link to the Tick-L mailing list is there as well. We've had several dogs come into rescue, mostly from CT I'd say (we're New England BC rescue) positive for anaplasmosis. My vet likes to treat them pretty aggressively because of the side effects of the different diseases (other organs affected) if left untreated. Usually 30 days of doxy. Good luck! Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLW1 Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 A couple of my dogs have had it. Lots of vets will say that they haven't seen a lot of it, but before the SNAP4 test came out no one was really testing for it at all and since it can mimic a lot of different diseases (because the symptoms are all over the board) it was easy to not diagnose it. I have done a lot of research and I treat it aggressively and, personally, I don't consider 30 days to be an aggressive treatment at all. The folks on the Tick-L list who are incredibly knowledgable will recommend 8 weeks at a high dosage and that's how I've successfully treated my dogs. Here in New England, it's being diagnosed as much as Lyme is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluzinnias Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Here in Baltimore County, we have seen plenty of cases. Some where diagnosed before the 4DX test but that was only because we are a donation site for the Eastern Veterinary Blood Bank and they had found it in some of our donors. Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eileen Stein Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thank you all very much. We are adjacent to Baltimore County. I have decided to start her on 30 days of doxy, and if she tolerates it well I will probably continue on for a total of 8 weeks. Tick-borne diseases are too scary to mess around with, and from the research I've been doing it sounds like this one can be deadly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC'sR4Me Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Thank you all very much. We are adjacent to Baltimore County. I have decided to start her on 30 days of doxy, and if she tolerates it well I will probably continue on for a total of 8 weeks. Tick-borne diseases are too scary to mess around with, and from the research I've been doing it sounds like this one can be deadly. I worked with borelia for about 4 years, we showed a 95% efficiency rate in the vaccine we were working on. The only animals that contracted any of the mutated strains of lyme or associated signs were immune deficient animals. I reccomend the vaccine, based on lab results and have had all of my dogs vaccinated. Especially in the Mid Atlantic area where it's a hotbed of tick borne pathogens. Recombitek has little to no adverse reatctions in dogs to date. Do you vaccinate for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Recombitek Lyme only protects against lyme. It would not have helped in this case. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC'sR4Me Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Recombitek Lyme only protects against lyme. It would not have helped in this case. Mark My bad, I actually was responding to the lyme part. However, have they done a PCR on the blood for the anaplamosis? That is the only reliable method for ruling it in or out. So I am curious. Especially since MD had the one of the highest reported number of cases of the human variant of the disease in 2002. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 As a research scientist I understand the desire to know for certain the cause of the disease and this data could be useful in tracking the disease geographically. However, would the PCR test results alter the treatment for this dog? Isn't doxy the treatment for all tick-borne diseases? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC'sR4Me Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 As a research scientist I understand the desire to know for certain the cause of the disease and this data could be useful in tracking the disease geographically. However, would the PCR test results alter the treatment for this dog? Isn't doxy the treatment for all tick-borne diseases? Mark Any form of tetracycline would be a suitable form, it will treat for it AND the possibility of lyme especially since both disease's natural host is the whitefooted mouse. So no, the PCR won't dictate the Tx. My question was because she said that she would get the results soon (but the vet was going to tend not credit) and I wonder 1) what those were, and 2) what kind of test was done. I am curious if she got a confirmed + back, and just how high the neutrophil count was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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