MOLECULAR DETECTION OF EHRLICHIA CANIS IN DOGS IN EGYPT

Esraa MA Khamis, Shwikar MA Ahmed, Dalia Talat and Madiha Salah Ibrahim*

ABSTRACT

Canine Ehrlichiosis is a fatal tick-borne disease in dogs transmitted by brown tick called Ripicephallus Sanguinus. Canine monocytic Ehrlichiosis is an intracellular gram-negative bacterial infection with 3 clinical phases: acute, subclinical, and chronic. Clinically, the dog infected with Ehrlichia shows common symptoms as fever, sever emaciation, off food, redness of conjunctiva. Here, blood samples were collected from 46 dogs (37 suspected with Ehrlichia) and 9 cases normal control from 3 Governmental veterinary units and 3 private clinics (24 males and 22 females) in Egypt. Out of the 37 suspected cases, 15 were feverish, 7 were off food, 15 appeared emaciated, 15 showed thrombocytopenia, and one case had epistaxis and died within 72 hours. By Nested PCR for the 46 cases, 17 (37.0%) were positive, while, 22 (47.8%) cases showed morulae in the monocytes. Nested PCR is more sensitive and accurate test confirming E. canis infection, however, blood smear testing could be used as a cheap, rapid routine diagnosis for dogs infested with ticks. The current work is the second for the detection of E. canis 16S RNA gene by Nested PCR in Egypt, further surveillance studies are still required to monitor E. canis infection in dogs in Egypt.

Keywords: E. canis, dogs, morulae, Egypt.