Dog positive for anaplasmosis or ehrlichia, no symptoms. Treat?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Even if Chloe is non-symptomatic, I would recommend following through with the treatment, as Minocycline is not harmful and it is best to treat and assume the infection has been treated. This is regular practice and is done quite often. There is a confirmatory test for Anaplasmosis called a PCR. I would discuss this with your vet if you would like to help confirm an active infection. The test used in clinics typically detects antibodies, so if Chloe was exposed to Anaplasma previously and the infection resolved on its own, her body likely developed antibodies against Anaplasma and will be detected on the antibody test for years to come. So the snap test used in clinics does not confirm an active infection, just that the animal has circulating antibodies to Anaplasma, which could indicate an active infection or a previous infection. The PCR is generally an expensive test to confirm ($200-300) versus putting the animal on an antibiotic and treat for several weeks. I would discuss this further with your veterinarian if you would like to investigate further but if it was my dog, I would do the course of Minocycline and consider it treated after the course is finished. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

If Lacey was found to be positive on a routine screening test as part of her yearly exam, it could be indicative of exposure to Ehrlichia but not an active infection. Ehrlichia is a type of tick borne disease that infects the white blood cells in a dog. If she isn't sick, I would recommend she have a blood test done called a complete blood cell count, or CBC. This measures and examines the red and white blood cells. If normal, she has been exposed and no further treatment is needed at this time. If abnormal her veterinarian may start her on a course of an antibiotic (doxycycline).

Hi there. Thanks for rescuing Fallon from the shelter. I would not treat him for Ehrlichia unless he was showing symptoms. Did he have the PCR test or the antibody test? I can tell you that many, many, many dogs test positive but we do not treat unless they have the clinical signs. This is because a positive test only indicates exposure and not clinical disease. Lethargy or "calmness" is not really considered a symptom. He would have to be showing more than that such as: 1. inappetence 2. enlarged lymph nodes 3. decreased platelet count on bloodwork 4. elevated globulin count on bloodwork 5. fever Here is a link to an article about Ehrlichia that may answer more of your questions. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=2103 If you still have more questions after reading that you are welcome to post again. Best wishes!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! As long as your dog has been treated and is now healthy, there should not be any long term effects of the infection. However, in the future, testing for these infections may be difficult, as false positive results are possible. Your dog may be a carrier of Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichia life long, but this disease is not transmitted to humans. You should be careful if you are planning to, or have, another dog. I hope this helps and that all is well!

Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You're right that Ghontu tested positive for Ehrlichia - but keep in mind that is an "antibody" test, meaning it tests for *exposure* to a disease and doesn't necessarily mean she has Ehrlichia. If a dog is exposed to Ehrlichia and their immune system does its job and successfully clears the body of the Ehrlichia infection, they will still show a positive result on that test. So it's not cause for panic! I defer to your regular vet to determine how worried they are, based on Ghontu's exam and other findings. If they feel treatment is appropriate, they will probably start Ghontu on a 4-week course of medication. The ALP is a bit elevated, but that elevation is quite mild and wouldn't have me too worried. Again, I would defer to your usual vet. But unless they had reason to worry about the ALP specifically, I wouldn't think twice about that ALP value. Hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Generally I will treat for 4-6 weeks with Doxycycline and then send out an anaplasmosis PCR to see if the patient is still positive. The test used in most vet clinics is a simple snap test that detects circulating antibodies to the anaplasma. It is likely that Molly will be positive on this snap test for years to come. This does not mean she is actively infected, just that she has had previous exposure to the infection. If you want to confirm she is negative after treatment, then a PCR test would be the test to run. Generally after successful treatment, I do not see any health complications. No annual testing is needed but a PCR might be something to consider running for the first 12 months every 6 months after treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

I'm sorry for your frustration, but there may be a solution. Most veterinarians use the Antibody test to detect Ehrlichia. Even with treatment, your dog may show a positive test for months or up to a year as the antibody is still being detected. In order to more accurately test if your dog has the disease, the newer blood test called a PCR assay can be submitted. This tests specifically for presence of the organism , not the antibodies. Please speak with your veterinarian about doing a different test as you may wait a very long time for the antibody test to be negative. I'm sure the newer test is probably more expensive, so be prepared to ask about the cost. Best of luck!