Ehrlichiosis

Ehrlichiosis is a tickborne bacterial infection, caused by bacteria of the family Anaplasmataceae, genera Ehrlichia and Anaplasma. These obligate intracellular bacteria infect and kill white blood cells.

The average reported annual incidence is 0.7 cases per million people.

Species

Five (see note below) species have been shown to cause human infection:

The latter two infections are not well studied. In 2006, human infection by Boone County, Missouri. Symptoms: high fever,severe joint and muscle aches, vomiting. Onset of symptoms began exactly 14 days after bite occurred. Symptoms affected patient on a 12-hour cycle; beginning early evening, ending early morning. No symptoms occurred for next 12 hours. CBC presented low WBC. Note: In 2008, human infection by Panola Mountain (Georgia, USA) Ehrlichia species was reported. On August 3, 2011, infection by a yet-unnamed bacterium in the genus Ehrlichia carried by deer ticks that has caused flu-like symptoms in at least 25 people in Minnesota and Wisconsin was reported; human ehrlichiosis was thought to be very rare or absent in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The new species, which is very similar genetically to an Ehrlichia species found in Eastern Europe and Japan called E. muris, was identified at Mayo Clinic Health System's Eau Claire hospital.

Ehrlichiosis (canine)

Ehrlichiosis (/ˌɛərlᵻkiˈoʊsᵻs/; also known as canine rickettsiosis, canine hemorrhagic fever, canine typhus, tracker dog disease, and tropical canine pancytopenia is a tick-borne disease of dogs usually caused by the organism Ehrlichia canis. Ehrlichia canis is the pathogen of animals. Humans can become infected by E. canis and other species after tick exposure. German Shepherd Dogs are thought to be susceptible to a particularly severe form of the disease, other breeds generally have milder clinical signs. Cats can also be infected.

Ehrlichia

Ehrlichia is a rickettsial bacteria belonging to the family Ehrlichiaceae. There are several species of Ehrlichia, but the one that most commonly affects dogs and causes the most severe clinical signs is Ehrlichia canis. This species infects monocytes in the peripheral blood. The brown dog tick, or Rhipicephalus sanguineous, that passes the organism to the dog is prevalent throughout most of the United States, but most cases tend to occur in the Southwest and Gulf Coast regions where there is a high concentration of the tick. Ehrlichia is found in many parts of the world and was first recognized in Algeria in 1935. During the Vietnam War ehrlichiosis became well known as a dog disease due to the infection and death of many military working dogs. Two types of human ehrlichiosis have been identified in the United States: human monocytic ehrlichiosis and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis.