Pathogen test
- The qPCR test detects the genome (DNA) of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the bacterium (formerly known as Ehrlichia phagocytophila and Ehrlichia equi) responsible for the Equine Anaplasmosis.
Sample
- 5 mL - blood - K3 EDTA tube
Turnaround time
- 2 to 5 working days
What is Equine Anaplasmosis?
- Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum that infects white blood cells. The disease is transmitted by ticks. The risk of transmission to people is unclear at this time.
- Although horses and people appear to be infected with strains of the same bacteria, it is believed that people also acquire the infection from tick bites, and not directly from infected horses.
Clinical signs
- The severity of signs varies with the age of the animal and duration of the illness. Signs may be mild.
- Horses less than 1 year old may have a fever only; horses 1 to 3 years old develop fever, depression, mild limb swelling, and lack of coordination.
- Adults exhibit the characteristic signs of fever, poor appetite, depression, reluctance to move, limb swelling, and jaundice.
- Fever is highest during the first 1 to 3 days of infection, but may last for 6 to 12 days. Signs become more severe over several days.
- Any existing infection (such as a leg wound or respiratory infection) can be made worse.
Transmission
- The disease is transmitted by ticks.
- Immature ticks pick up the bacterium from rodents who serve as reservoirs, maintain it as they mature, and then transmit it to the horse they feed off of as adults. It is unknown how long the tick has to be attached before transmission occurs.
- It takes approximately 2-3 weeks after disease transmission for the horse to develop clinical signs of Anaplasmosis, meaning that by the time signs are noticed the tick is long gone.
- Phagocytophilum organisms infect neutrophils and eosinophils in the blood.
Prevention
- The disease is easily treated in the early stages using appropriate antibiotics.
- The severity of the disease is variable; many horses recover after 14 days without treatment. However, rare fatalities have occurred that are believed to be associated with secondary infections.
- Horses with severe signs and neurologic signs may benefit from injectable corticosteroids.
- Recovered horses develop immunity for at least 2 years and are not carriers.
- Tick control measures are mandatory for control of the disease.
- There is no vaccine.