Ticks can be a real nuisance during the warm season. This is not only true for humans, but also for dogs, which ticks can infect with various diseases including anaplasmosis.
If your four-legged friend was recently bitten by a tick and is now suffering from non-specific symptoms such as exhaustion, lack of appetite or fever, this could indicate an infection with anaplasmosis.
What anaplasmosis is, how it is diagnosed and what treatment options are available is explained below. We will also give you advice on how to protect your dog from ticks and the diseases they transmit.
Anaplasmosis is an infectious disease. The pathogens responsible for the disease are called anaplasma. Anaplasma are bacteria from the Ehrlichia Ceae family.
In the event of an infection, anaplasma attack the granulocytes. These are white blood cells that are made in the bone marrow and are then released into the bloodstream. The anaplasma multiply in the granulocytes and destroy them. Depending on the severity of the disease, this can lead to serious harm in dogs with anaplasmosis.
Anaplasma are transmitted by ticks, which carry the pathogens and pass them on to their host during their blood feast. In Europe, it is the wood tick that is primarily responsible for dogs being infected with anaplasmosis.
In addition, the taiga tick can also carry anaplasma. However, the habitat of this tick species is mainly found in Central and East Asia, while there are only a few smaller distribution areas in Europe.
Anaplasmosis is common in dogs. In Germany for example, around 19 to 50 percent of all four-legged friends have had contact with anaplasma according to studies on this topic.
After an incubation period of approximately 2 to 20 days, anaplasmosis can present with a range of symptoms in dogs. However, this is not always the case. In many dogs, the infection with anaplasmosis is completely symptom-free.
If the transmitted anaplasma come from a potent strain of the pathogen or if the immune system of the four-legged friend is weakened, anaplasmosis can take a severe course with serious consequences for the animal.
In addition, dogs with anaplasmosis can experience swelling and inflammation of the joints and enlargement of the liver and spleen. Furthermore, neurological deficits, which can manifest themselves e.g. in cramps and lameness, can also present, depending on the course of the disease.
A decrease in thrombocytes (blood platelets) and an increased tendency for the dog to bleed are further typical consequences that anaplasmosis can bring.
The tendency of dogs with anaplasmosis to bleed can be noticeable through frequent nosebleeds and so-called petechiae (bleeds the size of a pinhead) on the mucous membranes. Apart from that, organ bleeding can also occur, which in turn can lead to further symptoms depending on the affected organs. This can manifest itself, amongst others, by severe thirst, problems with the gastrointestinal tract or a cough in your dog.
Anaplasma are not the only pathogens that ticks can carry. In addition, a tick bite can also transmit Borrelia bacteria. The disease they cause is called Lyme disease.
If a dog falls ill with anaplasmosis and Lyme disease at the same time, this often leads to the symptoms that occur being much more pronounced than if an animal only suffers from one of the two diseases.
A well-functioning immune system is vital to your dog's health and well-being. Of course, a strong immune system cannot prevent an infection with anaplasmosis in the event of a tick bite. However, it can certainly influence how well your dog copes with it and with other diseases.
By avoiding excessive stress and offering a balanced diet with a high-quality dog food, you can make a decisive contribution to ensuring that your dog's immune system is strong.
If necessary, the additional administration of suitable food supplements can also support the immune system. Bellfor Immun and Shiimun Immun are two products in our range that you can administer for this purpose.
Both supplements consist of carefully selected, natural ingredients and provide your dog with a variety of valuable nutrients that can help strengthen their immune system.
Anaplasmosis in dogs can be diagnosed with a blood test. The infection causes anaemia and a reduction in the number of platelets (thrombocytes) in the blood. During the acute phase of the disease, the anaplasma can be seen under a microscope.
Apart from that, indirect antibody detection can also be used as part of diagnostics. However, it does not provide an unequivocal result, since it takes some time for the dog's body to produce antibodies after an infection with anaplasma.
If the vet has diagnosed anaplasmosis in your dog, they will prescribe a suitable antibiotic for treatment. It is usually given for a period of between two and four weeks. In addition, the number of platelets is checked as part of monitoring the therapy. If the anaplasmosis in the dog is symptomless, the animal is not treated.
Depending on the condition of the dog, further treatment measures may be necessary in addition to the administration of antibiotics. These can include e.g. prescribing painkillers and fever-reducing drugs as well as infusions if the four-legged friend has lost a lot of fluid due to severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
If your dog's anaplasmosis is treated promptly and professionally, you can usually assume that your four-legged friend will make a full recovery without any permanent damage or long-term effects. Negative effects on life expectancy due to infection with anaplasmosis are also not to be expected following successful treatment of the dog.
There is no vaccination against anaplasmosis. It is therefore not an option to protect your four-legged friend from this bacterial infectious disease in that way.
The anaplasma which are responsible for the disease in dogs also pose a risk to humans. The infectious disease is therefore one of the so-called zoonotic diseases. Normally, humans only become infected if the pathogen is transmitted by a tick bite.
It is theoretically possible for your dog to infect you with anaplasmosis if there is direct contact with blood. However, the probability of this happening is extremely small and therefore negligible.
Ticks can infect your dog not only with anaplasmosis, but also with other diseases such as Lyme disease. The blood-sucking parasites become active as soon as the weather gets a little warmer. The typical tick season is from March to October.
It is important that you protect your dog from tick bites and the associated risk of infection when you go for a walk in the great outdoors. In addition to a thorough check of the coat after the walk, we recommend Bellfor ZEComplete Spray for this purpose.
ZEComplete is a natural product that, unlike many conventional tick repellents for dogs, does not contain potentially harmful acaricides. Instead, insect fat and various oils with a high content of lauric acid have a deterrent effect on ticks.
In this way, ZEComplete from Bellfor can make a decisive contribution to significantly reducing the risk of tick infestation and thus infection with diseases such as anaplasmosis in your dog.
Get to know Bellfor ZEComplete Spray.
As you can see, an infection with anaplasmosis can have serious consequences for your dog. Effective tick prophylaxis, using natural solutions whenever possible, should therefore be an integral part of your everyday life during walks in the open in the warmer months of the year. In this way you significantly reduce the risk of tick infestation and infection with anaplasmosis and other diseases such as Lyme disease in your dog.
Irrespective of this, you should generally keep an eye on the general health of your four-legged friend. Adequate feeding and avoiding stress help to support your dog's immune system, which can also affect the course of the disease in the event of an infection with anaplasmosis. If necessary, you can also rely on the additional administration of a suitable food supplement, such as those found in the Bellfor range, to strengthen the immune system.
