Infecção por Anaplasma platys em um cão – relato de caso

Abstract

Anaplasma platys is a gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacterium which is transmitted by ticks and the dog is the main host. It is responsible for causing canine cyclic thrombocytopenia (CCT), a disease characterized by alternating periods of thrombocytopenia and fever every 1 to 2 weeks. It is generally described as a subclinical disease, but reports have indicated pathogenicity variations in different regions of the world. The major history, clinical and laboratory findings are anorexia, apathy, weight loss, fever, hemorragic signs, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Diagnostic methods consists in observing morulae in infected platelets, IFA, ELISA and PCR. The treatment is based mainly in the use of tetracyclines and the prognosis is good with the appropriate treatment. This paper reports the case of a dog, Poodle, presented with the history of apathy, hyporexia and left hind limb lameness. Laboratory tests indicated anemia, thrombocytopenia, leukocytosis and hypoalbuminemia, and platelet inclusions suggestive of A. platys were observed, ELISA test presented positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma platys. Once the treatment with doxycycline was started, the animal presented clinical improvement in less than 7 days, with hematological exams within the reference values after 30 days of diagnosis. Clinical signs and laboratory abnormalities are consistent with available CCT literature. The number of published works on CCT is still small, which justifies the production of further studies and case reports to determine the clinical importance of the disease, which should be included in the differential diagnosis of dogs with thrombocytopenia.