E. canis is being discovered everywhere.

Annual screening is recommended for every dog as incidence grows.

Experts agree—tick-borne diseases are everywhere, and incidence is growing.¹

	"Canine ehrlichiosis is the second most common infectious disease in the United States, with the most prevalent being canine parvovirus disease." Hoskins JD. Seroprevalence of Ehrlichia in dogs. Veterinary Forum. October 2000.

The truth about E. canis is:

• In a survey of 42,000 dogs, 95% of Ehrlichia infections appear to be E. canis.²
• E. canis is a potentially fatal disease—diagnosis cannot be made on clinical signs alone.
• E. canis is the most concerning of the ehrlichial infections, given its broad national distribution and potential for severe morbidity.
• Clinical signs of E. canis can be difficult to distinguish from symptoms of other diseases, and many cases will be subclinical.

	"In the subclinical phase of the disease, which lasts from 40 to 120 days, signs are usually absent. In the mild chronic phase, some dogs show few, if any, outward signs of illness." Johnny Hoskins, DVM, PhD, DACVIM "E. canis infection results in a variety of acute and chronic clinical syndromes, but also can be sublinical." Neer TM, Breitschwerdt EB, Greene RT, Lappin MR. Consensus statement on ehrlichial disease of small animals from the infectious disease study group of the ACVIM. J Vet Intern Med. 2002;16(3):309–15.

Therefore, it's important to screen all dogs, both symptomatic and asymptomatic.

	"The in-hospital ELISA test [SNAP® 3DX®] for the detection of E. canis antibody can be used as a means for assessing seroprevalence within the population of dogs." Neer TM. Ehrlichia canis: A clinical approach to diagnosis and treatment. Emerging Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases: A Supplement to Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian. 2002;24(1):15–18.

Use the recommended treatment protocol to guide your team in managing this disease.

References:

1. Breitschwerdt E, Ford RB, Lapin M, Levy SA, Phillip M. Testing for ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease. Clinical Dialogue: Supplement to Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian. April 2001;23(4).
2. IDEXX Laboratories. Ehrlichia retrospective study; March 2000.

The SNAP® 3Dx® Test is available in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Latin America. Call your local IDEXX distributor for availability.

View the complete SNAP 3Dx Test package insert. (927 KB)

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