Doxycycline Hyclate Treatment of Experimental Canine Ehrlichiosis Followed by Challenge Inoculation with Two Ehrlichia canis Strains

AUTOR(ES)

Breitschwerdt, Edward B.

FONTE

American Society for Microbiology

RESUMO

Dogs were experimentally inoculated with Ehrlichia canis Florida to assess the efficacy of doxycycline hyclate for the treatment of acute ehrlichiosis. Treatment with doxycycline eliminated infection in eight of eight dogs. Untreated infected control dogs appeared to eliminate the infection or, alternatively, suppress the degree of ehrlichiemia to a level not detectable by tissue culture isolation or PCR or by transfusion of blood into recipient dogs. Prior infection did not infer protection against homologous (strain Florida) or heterologous (strain NCSU Jake) strains of E. canis. We conclude that doxycycline hyclate is an effective treatment for acute E. canis infection; however, these results may not be applicable to chronic infections in nature. Spontaneous resolution of infection, induced by the dog’s innate immune response, provides evidence that an E. canis vaccine, once developed, might potentially confer protective immunity against the organism.

Documentos Relacionados

• Reisolation of Ehrlichia canis from blood and tissues of dogs after doxycycline treatment.
• Western immunoblotting analysis of the antibody responses of patients with human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis to different strains of Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia canis.
• Analyses of Ehrlichia canis and a canine granulocytic Ehrlichia infection.
• Therapeutic Effect of Doxycycline in Experimental Subclinical Canine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis: Evaluation of a 6-Week Course
• Isolation of Ehrlichia canis from dogs following subcutaneous inoculation.