Serological surveillance of the prevalence of Ehrlichia canis in the southern departments of Santa Fe province, Argentina

Abstract

Canine ehrlichiosis is a disease that affects canines, has a worldwide distribution and is transmitted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato ticks. It was officially described, for the first time in Argentina, in 2013. To date, it has been recorded in dogs from numerous cities and provinces. The objective of this work was to report the seroprevalence of Ehrlichia canis along with the hematological alterations
found in patients from the Rosario, San Lorenzo, Constitución and Caseros departments of the province of Santa Fe, in the period 2017-2019. There are different clinical manifestations of the disease and with them associated hematological alterations. In the present work, a retrospective analysis was carried out on the dogs that were indicated for a serological analysis of Ehrlichia canis together with a blood count. The results obtained showed that of the 468 dogs studied, 50.4 % were positive. No association was observed between sex, age or race. 60.5 % of the positive cases presented some hematological alteration, among the most frequent being anemia, leukocytosis and thrombocytopenia. The blood count is a valuable tool to help the clinician in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with Ehlichia canis, since it often presents itself as a clinical challenge.