Cross Species - Top 10 Tickborne Diseases Part 1

Question 1

what is the classic case presentation of canine lyme arthropathy?

Answer 1

lethargy, anorexia, fever, lymphadenopathy, & joint pain +/- swelling

Question 2

what is the classic case presentation of canine lyme nephropathy?

Answer 2

peripheral edema/ascites, dyspnea, retinal detachment or hemorrhage secondary to hypertension, & paraparesis with cool pelvic limbs & loss of femoral pulses due to saddle thrombus

Question 3

what are the breeds that are predisposed to lyme nephropathy?

Answer 3

labs, goldens, & shetland shepdogs

Question 4

what is the preferred host for larval ixodes ticks & major reservoir for borrelia burgdorferi?

Answer 4

white-footed mouse

Question 5

what are the 3 documented syndromes of lyme borreliosis in horses?

Answer 5

uveitis

neuroborreliosis - ataxia, cranial nerve deficits, poor tongue tone, muzzle tremors

pseudolymphoma

unproven but often diagnosed classic lyme borreliosis - muscle atrophy, spooking, & anorexia/weight loss

Question 6

what is the etiology of lyme disease?

Answer 6

borrelia burgdorferi

tick vector - ixodes species

reservoir - white-footed mouse

pathogenesis - thought to be immune-mediated

Question 7

how is lyme disease diagnosed in dogs?

Answer 7

snap 4DX plus test for C6 peptide that indicates natural exposure

Question 8

what is seen on labwork in dogs with lyme nephropathy?

Answer 8

hypoalbuminemia, hypercholesterolemia, proteinuria with microalbuminemia, elevated protean:creatinine ratio

+/- glucosuria, hyperphosphatemia, azotemia, anemia, & thrombocytopenia

Question 9

how is lyme disease diagnosed in horses?

Answer 9

CSF serum ratio using a lyme multiplex (detects 3 different antibodies) is sometimes suggestive but only post-mortem is definitive

serology - lyme multiplex is the best option, C6 ELISA antibody is used but a lot of false positives/negatives

Question 10

is serology alone diagnostic of lyme disease in horses? why?

Answer 10

no - only indicates exposure

Question 11

should you treat a dog for lyme disease if they are asymptomatic but have positive titers?

Answer 11

nope

Question 12

what treatment is used for equine lyme?

Answer 12

doxycycline or minocycline

Question 13

what treatment is used for canine lyme disease? what about lyme nephropathy?

Answer 13

general - doxycycline or amoxicillin for 28 days, immunosuppression may be necessary

lyme nephropathy - ace inhibitor, lose-dose aspirin, & omega-3 fatty acids

tick prevention

Question 14

what is the prognosis for canine lyme arthritis? what about canine lyme arthropathy?

Answer 14

arthritis - good

nephropathy - guarded to poor

Question 15

what is the prognosis of lyme disease in horses?

Answer 15

uveitis - poor

neuroborreliosis - poor

pseudolymphoma - good

Question 16

in dogs, what other concurrent tickborne infections are common along with lyme?

Answer 16

anaplasmosis, rocky mountain, & erhlichiosis

Question 17

what dog breeds may be predisposed to anaplasmosis?

Answer 17

labs & goldens

Question 18

what is the classic presentation of anaplasmosis in dogs?

Answer 18

lethargy, anorexia, lameness/reluctance to walk, joint swelling of the carpi/stifles, fever, splenomegaly, mild lymphadenopathy, & +/- epistaxis/petechiae/hemorrhages

Question 19

what is the other name for anaplasmosis in horses? what is the classic presentation of anaplasmosis in horses?

Answer 19

equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis

more severe in older horses, fever, depression, reluctance to move, peripheral edema, petechiae/ecchymoses, ataxia, & icterus

Question 20

what is the classic presentation of anaplasmosis in cows?

Answer 20

more severe in older cattle, loss of BCS/milk production, weakness, pale/icteric mucus membranes, & abortion

Question 21

what is the etiology of anaplasmosis? what are the vectors?

Answer 21

anaplasma phagocytophilum (also affects cats, humans, other animals)

main vector - deer ticks (ixodes)

Question 22

how is anaplasmosis diagnosed in dogs?

Answer 22

thrombocytopenia, reactive lymphocytes, arthrocentesis/buffy coat smear showing neutrophils with cytoplasmic morulae

paired IFA titers with 4X increase

snap 4DX plus to detect antibodies to anaplasma phagocytophilum

PCR may be negative in chronic carriers

Question 23

how is anaplasmosis diagnosed in horses?

Answer 23

cytoplasmic morulae in neutrophils on blood smear, PCR of whole blood/buffy coat, & paired IFA titers with a 4X increase

Question 24

what is the etiology of anaplasmosis in cows? how is anaplasmosis diagnosed in cows?

Answer 24

anaplasma marginale

anemia, giemsa stained blood smears revealing dark blue inclusions on the periphery of erythrocytes, & Msp5 ELISA/CF/ card agglutination may identify carriers

Question 25

how is anaplasmosis treated in dogs, horses, & cows? how is it prevented?

Answer 25

dogs - doxycycline or minocycline for 4 weeks (NSAIDS if necessary, but most respond within 2 days of abx) horses - oxytetracycline for 8 days +/- NSAIDS or short dose of steroids cows - single injection of long lasting oxytetracycline with another injection 1 week after to eliminate carrier state +/- blood transfusion if necessary prevention - tick control

Question 26

T/F: 30% of cattle infected with anaplasmosis in a naive herd will usually succumb to the disease

Answer 26

true

Question 27

what is the prognosis of anaplasmosis in dogs & horses?

Answer 27

good with prompt treatment

Question 28

what is the common signalment of animal affected with cytauxzoonosis? what is the distribution of infection seen?

Answer 28

outdoor cats predominantly in south central & southeast US biphasic waves of infection march-june & then august-september

Question 29

what is the classic case presentation of cytauxzoonosis?

Answer 29

acute anorexia/lethargy, fever, hepatosplenomegaly, dyspnea, pale mucus membranes, icterus, seizures, yowling, coma, & death in a few days if left untreated

Question 30

what is the etiology of cytauxzoonosis?

Answer 30

cytauxzoon felis bobcat host tick vectors - amblyoma americanum or dermacentor variablis

Question 31

what is seen on labwork in a cat with cytauxzoonosis? how is it diagnosed?

Answer 31

cbc - leukopenia with toxic neutrophils, thrombocytopenia, & normocytic normochromic anemia chemistry - hyperbilirubinemia, hypoalbuminemia, & hyperglycemia bilirubinuria positive coomb's test cytology of a blood smear or aspirate of bone marrow/lymph node/liver/spleen - round or oval piroplasms & macrophages infected with schizonts PCR to confirm infection

Question 32

how is cytauxzoonosis treated?

Answer 32

iv fluids & blood transfusion oxygen/avoid stress antiprotozoal therapy - atovaquone & azithromycin doxycycline if co-infections with other tick-borne diseases heparin for DIC

Question 33

how is cytauxzoonosis prevented?

Answer 33

keep cats indoors in areas with bobcats tick prevention

Question 34

what is the prognosis of cytuxzoonosis?

Answer 34

65% survival rate seen with aggressive treatment in experimentally infected cats

Question 35

what are poor prognostic factors of cytauxzoonosis?

Answer 35

hypothermia, icterus, severely anemia, or non-ambulatory

Question 36

what is the classic case presentation of canine babesiosis?

Question 37

what is the classic case presentation of bovine babesiosis?

Question 38

what is the classic case presentation of equine babesiosis?

Question 39

what is the etiology of babesiosis in dogs, cows, & horses? how is it transmitted?

Answer 39

dogs - b. canis vogeli, larger babesia, more risk in greyhounds, b. gibsoni, smaller one that is of greater risk in pitties - blood, ticks, & vertical transmission cows - b. bigemina & b. bovis (more severe) horses - b. caballi & theileria equi, spread through various tick vectors & blood contamination

Question 40

how is babesiosis diagnosed in dogs?

Answer 40

PCR, cbc (thrombocytopenia, visible organisms on giemsa stained smear, +/- regenerative anemia), hyperglobulinemia/bilirubinemia on chemistry, positive coomb's test, splenomegaly on rads, & IFA serology greater than 1:64

Question 41

how is babesiosis diagnosed in cows?

Answer 41

CBC - anemia, visible organisms on giemsa stained blood smear, hemoglobinemia more severe with b. bigemina serology with IFA or ELISA necropsy - marked splenomegaly that is dark & friable & darkened kidneys

Question 42

how is babesiosis diagnosed in horses?

Answer 42

intracellular parasites in erythrocytes on blood smears serology PCR

Question 43

what treatment is used for canine babesiosis?

Answer 43

anemia - blood transfusion/hemoglobin polymer b canis - imidocarb (pretreat with atropine) b gibsoni - atovaquone & azithromycin combo iv fluids

Question 44

what treatment is used for bovine babesiosis?

Answer 44

diminazene, imidocarb, blood transfusions for anemia, anti-inflammatories, & IV fluids

Question 45

what treatment is used for equine babesiosis?

Answer 45

imidocarb - difficult to clear carrier state blood transfusion intranasal oxygen

Question 46

T/F: equine babesiosis is a reportable disease

Answer 46

true - considered a foreign animal disease with rare outbreaks in the US

Question 47

what is the most common cause of human babesiosis?

Answer 47

b. divergens - very serious in splenectomized individuals

Question 48

what breed of dog is predisposed to a more severe form of ehrlichiosis?

Answer 48

german shepherds

Question 49

what is the common clinical case presentation of ehrlichiosis?

Answer 49

lethargy, anorexia, severe weight loss, hemorrhages, fever, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, arthritic lameness, neurologic signs (cerebellar signs, paresis, depression), & pu/pd secondary to glomerulonephritis

Question 50

what is seen on lab work of dogs with ehrlichiosis?

Answer 50

cbc - thrombocytopenia, anemia chemistry - hyperglobulinemia, elevated liver enzymes, azotemia, & hypoalbuminemia buffy coat may show morulae in mononuclear cells serology - IFA with 4X increase 2-4 weeks apart is best in house SNAP may be positive in a clinically normal dog PCR - may be negative in chronic cases

Question 51

T/F: you should treat all snap positive ehrlichiosis dogs if clinical signs & lab results indicate ehrlichia & all german shepherds regardless of their clinical appearance

Answer 51

true

Question 52

how is ehrlichiosis treated? what is not effective for treatment?

Answer 52

doxycycline or minocycline for 4 weeks not effective - imidocarb & enrofloxacin

Question 53

what are some poor prognostic factors for dogs with ehrlichiosis?

Answer 53

guarded prognosis - in hemorrhagic dogs grave prognosis - in dogs with a pancytopenia