PRISCILA GOMES DE OLIVEIRA

AUTHOR: PRISCILA GOMES DE OLIVEIRA

TITLE: DIAGNOSIS OF Ehrlichia spp. IN ASYMPTOMATIC DOGS

ADVISOR: CECÍLIA NUNES MOREIRA

DEFENSE DATE: 02/06/2020

ABSTRACT

Ehrlichia canis is an important infectious agent in dogs, difficult to control due to the distribution of its vector, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Being transmitted from one dog to another by the blood meal of the vector tick, which by hematophagy ingests the agent of an infected dog containing morulae in the parasitized cells. During blood meal, the components of the tick's saliva act on the host's local immune response, decreasing the Th1-type response. This suppression favors the Th2-type response, allowing the infection to settle. In this way, the animal generates nonspecific hematological and biochemical changes, making the diagnosis difficult, which is often presumptively made. Inducing the use of unnecessary medication, which can lead to complications in the effectiveness of the treatment due to favoring resistance to antibiotics. It is important to clarify and study the means of diagnosis and the necessary associations, to avoid unnecessary treatments, especially in asymptomatic cases. The definitive diagnosis requires the use of more sensitive techniques such as molecular techniques and not only considering the complete blood count and qualitative serological tests. Since the spread of cases of ehrlichiosis among the canine population and the limitations of conventional techniques for the diagnosis, identification and differentiation of microorganisms can promote misunderstandings in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, it is intended to explore other means of diagnosis available in asymptomatic dogs with hematological changes, aiming to clarify and raise awareness about how treatments against hemoparasitosis are being administered.