Megacor Diagnostik – FASTest Anaplasma Rapid Test – Box of 10

Anaplasmosis is a bacterial-borne infectious disease that can cause various clinical symptoms depending on vector or pathogen species. The agent Anaplasma phagocytophilum mainly occurs in the northern hemisphere causing granulocytotropic anaplasmosis. It plays an important epidemiologic role in dogs and horses. Other mammals as well as humans (zoonosis) can be also infected by a tick bite.

In principle, tick territories (endemic area) are potential breeding grounds for dog and horse. In Europe, approximately 2–4,5% of the ticks (especially Ixodes spp.; Dermacentor spp.) are infected with A. phagocytophilum. In endemic tick territories, asymptomatic horses show seroprevalences from 26 to 33%. In the horse, morbidity ranges from 66 to 100%. In the dog, morbidity for single infection with A. phagocytophilum is low, but coninfection (e.g. Borrelia burgdorferi, E. canis) will increase the clinical course. Recent studies in Germany indicate a seroprevalence from 19 to 50%.

With a transmission time of usually up to 25 hours after tick bite and an incubation time of 2 to 20 days, infections typically are subclinical or self-limiting. Antibody titres will increase 2–3 weeks post infection, remain for some months and decrease to normal levels after 7 months.

Clinical symptoms are fever, apathy, stiff muscle, polyarthritis with joint pain/swelling, lameness, weight loss, thrombocytopenia, anaemia, petechial haemorrhages and increasing inflammatory values (CRP, haptoglobin). Subarachnoid haemorrhage could lead to central nervous disorders. Additionally, horses can show metabolic acidosis, oedema, laminitis as well as coffee brown urine. Mortality is low in the horse and in the dog.

The cause of thrombocytic anaplasmosis is Anaplasma platys. It occurs world-wide, especially in the southern hemisphere and mainly infects dogs. In most cases, the infection is asymptomatic with mild fever, uveitis, petechiae and ecchymosis. In the laboratory diagnostics, a thrombocytopenia is shown.

Due to similar clinical symptoms in tick-transmitted infectious diseases, the veterinarian using FASTest® ANAPLASMA is able to identify on-site the A. phagocytophilum and A. platys antibody status of the suspicious animal. This enables to start immediately further diagnostic investigations (IFAT, blood smear/count, PCR etc.) as well as prophylactic and therapeutic measures.