Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar-263145, India.
Present address: 1Division of Parasitology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243 122, India; E-mail: banerjeeps@rediffmail.com.
A 3.5-month-old, male, German Shepherd dog was brought to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Pantnagar, India, with lethargy, fever, anorexia, lymphadenopathy, non-regenerative anaemia and thrombocytopaenia. Cytology of Giemsa-stained buffy coat smears revealed Hepatozoon sp. gamonts in 16.06% of neutrophils and Ehrlichia spp. intracytoplasmic morulae in 0.99% and 3.12% of neutrophils and monocytes, respectively. All the granulocytic morulae were co-localised with Hepatozoon sp. gamonts in the cytoplasm of the neutrophils. Treatment with doxycycline resulted in both clinical and parasitologic cure in 72 h from initiation of treatment. This appears to be the first report of a mixed infection with H. canis, E. canis and granulocytic Ehrlichia from India.
Dog, Monocytic/granulocytic ehrlichiosis, Hepatozoonosis, Doxycycline
