Abstract

Ehrlichieae are important, emerging tick-borne gram negative, obligate intracellular bacteria from the Anaplasmataceae family that infect canines and are also zoonotic. There is limited information in scientific reports available indicating the species of ehrlichia causing disease, and its prevalence in Kenya. Dogs treated at the Small Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nairobi were recruited into the study after being diagnosed with ehrlichiosis on the basis of presenting clinical signs suggestive of infection and having inclusion bodies in monocytes. Polymerase Chain Reaction using genus and species-specific primers was done on DNA extracted from blood collected from the dogs. The PCR revealed 58.9% (113/192) positive for the genera Anaplasma and Ehrlichia using ECC and ECB primers. From these 42.5% (48/113) were positive for species-specific primers for Ehrlichia canis HE3 and ECANS5. The most common clinical signs in the dogs infected by E.canis were congestion of mucous membranes (53%), inappetance (49%), panting (36%), loose hair (31%), lethargy (29%), vomiting (28%), wasting (27%) and ocular discharges 27%. Increase in the mean concentration of alanine aminotransferase 59.04 U/L as compared to the reference range of 0-40 U/L. The clinical manifestations and anaemia observed in this study, though not specific, can be considered to be the case definition for Ehrlichia canis infection in dogs in this region. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report on molecular identification of Ehrlichia canis in Kenya.

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