Fimbriosis, also known as anaplasmosis, is an infectious blood parasite transmitted by marginal anaplasmosis via ticks that exclusively parasitises red blood cells. It mainly causes disease in ruminants, horses, humans, dogs and cats.

Clinical signs of Anaplasma canis

Infection with Anaplasma is generally chronic, the beginning does not show obvious clinical symptoms when the resistance drops, high fever, anaemia, gangrene and progressive wasting and other symptoms, acute onset of the disease can lead to animal death. In addition, the severity of clinical symptoms after canine anaplasmosis infection may also be related to the different strains of anaplasmosis, and the haematological examination of the animals suffering from siderophagy shows a significant decrease in the number of erythrocytes, the erythrocyte pressure volume and the haemoglobin content.

Route of transmission

Anaplasma is transmitted primarily by hard ticks; other vectors also include a variety of blood-sucking insects such as gadflies, flies and mosquitoes. Anaplasma is transmitted by biting a host animal that carries the pathogen and then biting other healthy animals. In addition, free-range farming practices can increase the risk of infection between animals, and the onset of Anaplasma occurs during the active season for ticks and bloodsucking insects, with the peak of transmission occurring in August-October.

Clinical diagnosis of anaplasmosis test

In most cases, canine Anaplasma infection does not show obvious clinical symptoms, which makes it difficult to confirm the diagnosis of the disease, and the current test for anaplasmosis  is mainly based on the method of microscopic examination of Jimsa staining, immunofluorescence method and PCR detection method.

Because Anaplasma disease is often mixed with other pathogens, and only when the invasion rate of plasma-free bodies on red blood cells is more than 0.5% can a positive diagnosis be made, so the detection rate of Kiemsa staining microscopy method is low, and the laboratory is mostly diagnosed by immunofluorescence method and PCR detection method.

Fast results are key, and testing for anaplasmosis, developed by Antigenne, also provides accurate test results in less than 10 minutes, significantly reducing wait times and enabling pet owners and veterinarians to make quick treatment decisions.

Control measures

Anaplasma control includes (1) Avoiding exposure to ticks by taking dogs less often into environments where ticks live (ticks tend to live in wilderness). (2) Immediate isolation and treatment of sick dogs diagnosed with anaplasma, enhanced care, and timely deworming of ectoparasites if found. (3) Pharmacological prevention and control. Doxycycline is effective in treating the disease, while penicillin or streptomycin is not.

Canine anaplasma test for dogs

Antigenne has developed a Canine Anaplasma Antibody Rapid Test for testing canine blood samples, which is fast, easy to operate and highly accurate, and can be used as an effective means for users to detect Canine Anaplasma disease.