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Stacy Ernst
| | Posted on Friday, Nov 19, 1999 - 6:26 pm: |   |
Thanks for helping me get this question posted in an appropriate place. My vet recently attended a conference at the U of Minnesota where it was stated that the most commonly used ehrilicia titre (how do you spell titer, titre, anyway?) has been found to be unable to effectively diagnose the infection in its early stage. My vet dealt with 3 confirmed cases of ehrlicia this past spring (in central Minnesota and Western Wisconsin) and actually treated my mare for it in May as my mare was running a high temp and was showing similar symptoms to another horse in the area with ehrlicia. I live in a tick area rated in the "epidemic" level and have actively tried everything possible (except bantam hens -as they are the new favorite of my parent's german shorthairs) to alleviate the problem. Anyway. My mare's titre in May tested negative and my vet immediately stopped treating with tetracycline after only 48 hours and switched to genomycine. My mare's recovery was slow but steady and we thought perhaps she just had had a viral something or other..... however, the interesting thing is that after the conference this October my vet wanted to run another titre and send it to an agency that was successfully isolating the virus- and you guessed it! According to the second test, my mare did have ehrlicia! So, my vet thinks the initial bump of tetracycline may have knocked it down enough for my mare to fight it off on her own.
But, what is it? And what do I do now, if anything? Is ehrlicia like lymes or EPM? I know nothing about it except that my mare was one of the three diagnosed with it who did NOT end up at the U of M on IV. My mare is 8 years old and 4 1/2 months pregnant.
Sorry this is so long. Any information on erhlicia would be helpful and appreciated.
Stace |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
| | Posted on Saturday, Nov 20, 1999 - 8:29 am: | |
Hello Stace,
I started a reply and said what the heck, let's write an article. Using the navigation bar on the top of this frame go to the Heart, Blood, Vessels, topic and you will see the article Equine Ehrlichiosis. Hope it helps, if you still have some questions post to them to the forum in that article.
DrO |
Stacy Ernst
| | Posted on Monday, Nov 22, 1999 - 3:27 pm: | |
Thanks! |
Gail Anderson
Member
Username: Gailking
Post Number: 4
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Friday, Jan 9, 2004 - 2:26 pm: | |
Dear Dr. O,
My horse was just diagnosed with ehrlichiosis on Jan. 2. I live in the foothills of Northern California. He was somewhat depressed and not eating with his usual amount of gusto. His stool became much smaller than usual and he was hanging around his water trough often and drinking a sip or splashing a lot. He passed a stool with a thin slime on it, so I called with vet thinking he might have an impaction. The vet examined him and his pulse and respiration were normal, but his temp was 103.4 degrees. One side of his bowel was normal, but the other side of his body seemed somewhat stretched out or firmer. Since we were having a spell of very cold weather, snow and rain, where they often just hang out in their barn area, his lethargy wasn't that unusual. My vet took a blood test which later tested positive for the parasite in his white blood cells. My question. He was treated with just one dose of intravenous tetracycline and some banamine. That dropped his fever by late that night and it has stayed about 99 to 99.4 since then. My vet gave me powdered sulfa for seven days. I am concerned that he should have at least one more treatment with the intravenous tetracycline as you describe in your article. Unless all of the parasites get killed with just one dose, will they again start to replicate and cause more problems down the line. Incidentally, I discovered the tick bit on my horse on Dec. 18 deeply embedded up between his cheeks on his rear legs. I am pretty certain he did not get any subsequest bites as I do check regularly for ticks. So the incubation period can be somewhat longer. Again, he may have been subdued for a few days earlier, but with the bad weather and their normal inclination to just stay put in the barn area in bad weather, it would be hard to say. My horses live under my house and I feed 5 small meals per day, so I see them daily on a very regular basis.
Please give me your opinion regarding treatment. Thanks for your help. Gail
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Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 9743
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Sunday, Jan 11, 2004 - 10:13 am: | |
The part you are missing Gail is that equine ehrlichiosis is often a self limiting disease that often needs no treatment at all. Just keep watching seems sensible to me, if the fever returns, then treat 3 days.
DrO |
Gail Anderson
Member
Username: Gailking
Post Number: 5
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Monday, Jan 12, 2004 - 6:37 pm: | |
I took my horses for an outing yesterday and my "sick" guy was loose most of the five hour ride. He spent the whole time cantering and trotting and generally racing around--his usual self. He did not appear to need the one month recovery time for his energy or blood cells. Thanks for your input. I will stop worrying. Gail |
Tamy L Slattery
Member
Username: Tamyslat
Post Number: 8
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Monday, Jun 20, 2005 - 4:34 pm: | |
I found two tick bites on my horse. THey are already a little scaby. Is there anything I can do once the tick has been on him? Should I scrub the wounds and try to clean them? Use antibiotic cream? He has had Lymes about 18 months ago and I am afraid of him getting it again.
Thanks |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 13192
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005 - 9:22 am: | |
Antibiotic ointment 3 x daily for several days seems logical to prevent local infection, a rare problem with tick bites. However it is not likely to prevent any tick transmitted blood borne infections.
DrO |
