Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the hematological and cytomorphological findings in the peripheral blood and bone marrow of dogs infected with Ehrlichia spp. and Anaplasma spp. Forty-four dogs with clinically suspected hemoparasitosis, belonging to different breeds, ages, and both sexes, underwent serological examination by SNAP Assay, hematological analysis, and myelogram. Among them, 63.6% (28/44) tested serologically positive; among the serologically positive dogs, 57.1% (16/28) tested positive for Ehrlichia spp., 21.4% (6/28) for Anaplasma spp., and 21.4% (6/28) were coinfected. Thrombocytopenia was the most frequent hematologic alteration in dogs positive for Ehrlichia spp., present in 93.7% (15/16) (p=0.015) of the infected animals, while macrocytic and hypochromic anemia were observed in 66.7% (4/6) (p=0.010) of the animals infected with Anaplasma spp. In the myelogram, 62.5% (10/16, p=0.005) and 75.0% (12/16, p=0,044) of the animals positive for Ehrlichia spp. presented with bone marrow hypoplasia and decrease in the myeloid: erythroid (M:E) ratio, respectively. Hyperplasia of the erythroid series was observed in 50.0% (3/6) (p=0.022) of the animals positive for Anaplasma spp. No significant association was observed between the hematological alterations and the coinfection group (p >0.05). On the basis of these hematological observations, it can be inferred that the aforementioned laboratory examinations could be employed for the characterization and confirmative diagnosis of hemoparasitosis in dogs.
Key words:
hematological analysis; hemoparasitosis; immunodiagnostic; myelogram