Dogs In Costa Rica – Ehrlichiosis is the hidden disease

Ehrlichiosis isn’t going away, it’s on the increase and it is a serious disease… Your dog can die from it. It was once considered a tropical disease but is now a challenge in northern climes located in the USA as well.

However, many of us from North America aren’t aware of it and in fact it really isn’t commonly know even among locals either, and so it can go unnoticed until too late. I will keep the medical jargon as brief as possible but you can do a more in depth search via “the net” if you would like more details.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “Ehrlichiosis is the general name used to describe several bacterial diseases that affect animals and humans. These diseases are caused by the organisms in the genus Ehrlichia.”

This disease is tick borne, (carried similar to Lyme’s disease) occurs most commonly in dogs, and perhaps some other mammals, and can occur in people (only if bitten by a disease carrying tick, you could never get it from direct contact from a dog). It can cause severe anemia, hemorrhage, depressed immune system, and ultimately death.

The early symptoms are subtle and many times you may not be aware your dog is sick until they are so weak that they collapse. Many times you may only notice that your dog “looks tired and has little energy” and maybe has a depressed appetite.

Remember, the beginning symptoms are subtle and your dog may show only one or even several of the above symptoms in the beginning. The membranes of the mouth, tongue or eye conjunctiva may become pale due to the anemia. These are some of the early symptoms. Don’t ignore them. Your dog’s fatigue may anemia due to the disease.

Sometimes the presence of the disease is discovered accidentally when your dog has to go in for surgery maybe for a routine spay or neuter and bleeds more than normal (with low platelets impeding the clotting process) Get him/her to your vet to do a blood test as quickly as possible. This is when you have the best chance of a cure.

Be sure you have both a complete blood test (looking at red blood cells, hematocrit, haemoglobin, white blood cells and platelets) and the “snap test” which is an antibody test which covers some three diseases, one which is Ehrlichiosis.

Don’t have only the quick “snap test” done because it alone isn’t as accurate. Insist on both. The “snap test” if positive will show if your dog has been exposed to the disease, or has the active disease, or even may show if it has previously been treated and is now cured. Sometimes the “snap test” will give you a false negative if not performed correctly by a very knowledgable person.

However, with the complete blood test if the hematocrit, haemoglobin, platelets are all depressed (lower than in normal healthy dogs) with a possible elevation of the white blood cells, I would be very suspicious that the dog has the disease regardless of the results of the “snap test” that is if your dog exhibits the above symptoms. Of course if the “snap test” comes back positive, along with the above results, and your dog is exhibiting the classic symptoms, you can pretty well assume your dog has the disease and treatment should begin ASAP.

In absence of other symptoms of other diseases, we sort of consider Ehrlichiosis the “default disease” mostly ruling out other illnesses with just the Ehrlichiosis diagnosis remaining. Most doctors understand the urgency of beginning the treatment asap and will begin it in essence of time based on the symptoms and the blood test.

So, if all of the above appears positive, normally the treatment consists of oral doxycycline (10mg per kg of body weight every 12 hours, given for at least 21 days) and that normally cures the dog. Don’t skimp on either the dosage or length of time given. Depending on how severe the disease is, your dog may need some additional therapy such as steroid therapy (to prolong the lifespan of the existing red blood cells) as well as some drugs to enhance the production of new red blood cells if it is severely anemic.

With all this said, the natural question is “how do I avoid my dog getting this disease?” Simple answer; keep them as “tick free” as possible with some of the local topicals that you put on the center of their back once a month (or with the frequency recommended by the product insert) which protects them from other types of parasites as well. It normally contains a “selamectin” type ingredient.

Also, give your dog a thorough weekly visual inspection looking for ticks to let you know it is time to re-apply the topical tick medicine. Even though the package may say it lasts a certain amount of time, I find the effectiveness of those topicals has a wide variation of protection. Nothing is 100% foolproof but this will definitely skew the odds in favor of your pet.

I wrote this for you because I felt it was important, but you have friends that I don’t know so please pass this on to all of your friends who have a beloved canine pal and keep your dog in Costa Rica healthy.

I would like to dedicate this article to “Molly”, a beautiful black Great Dane owned by John and Cathy Nicholas (of Bed and Breakfast, “Chalet Nicholas”) who sadly died some three years back before the disease was as well known around these parts. It is her loss that inspired me to spread this important information about a “silent” killer and not lose any more beloved pets due to lack of information.

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Compiled by Gloria Dempsey. Zoologist in Arenal, Costa Rica

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.