CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF INFECTIOUS CANINE CYCLIC THROMBOCYTOPENIA

This paper describes five naturally occurring clinical cases of infect ious canine cyclic thrombocytopenia that were the first serologically confirmed cases of Ehrlichia platys infection in Israel. In the USA th is disease is considered subclinical, but the dogs in this study devel oped distinct clinical abnormalities. The signs observed by the owners included anorexia, lethargy, depression, weight loss and a mucopurule nt nasal discharge, The principal findings on physical examination inc luded lymphadenomegaly, pale mucous membranes, fever and the presence of ticks, The main abnormal haematological and biochemical findings in cluded thrombocytopenia, the presence of giant platelets, low haematoc rit, monocytosis and low albumin concentrations, All five dogs were le ss than two years of age, and four were purebred dogs, suggesting that these two factors may be associated with increased risk to infection and clinical disease, Two of the dogs were seropositive to E canis, a finding which is compatible with other reports, and which confirms tha t combined infections of E platys and E canis are common; it also sugg ests that E canis infections may contribute to the pathogenesis of E p latys. The distinct clinical manifestation of the disease in these fiv e dogs suggests that there may be a different, more virulent strain of E platys in Israel.