Anaplasmosis in domestic animals

Sa？etak Anaplasmosis is a collective name for all tick-borne diseases caused by the bacteria of the Anaplasma genus. Anaplasmosis in domestic animals include granulocytic anaplasmosis in cats and dogs, anaplasmosis in horses, and tick-borne fever in ruminants caused by A. phagocytophilum, cyclic thrombocytopenia in dogs caused by A. platys, as well as anaplasmosis in cattle caused by A. marginale. In addition to the aforementioned diseases in domestic animals, A. phagocytophilum is responsible for a disease in humans called human granulocytic anaplasmosis. Animals are most commonly infected by the bite of infected ticks. Clinical signs depend on the type of bacteria causing the disease, but also on the affected animal host. Anaplasmoses are generally slow-course diseases characterized by non-specific symptoms, and rarely result in lethal outcome. Diagnosis is based on medical history, epizootiological data, and the clinical manifestation of the disease, including serological and molecular methods. The treatment of choice for anaplasmosis is tetracycline antibiotics, and improvement is visible shortly after the beginning of therapy. Since anaplasmoses are tick-borne diseases, prophylaxis should be directed at tick control. Vaccines for diseases caused by A. phagocytophilum and A. platys bacteria do not exist, while live and killed vaccines may be used in cattle anaplasmosis prophylaxis