Frequency and factors associated with the diagnosis of Ehrlichia canis and Anaplasma spp. in dogs

This study assesses the number of reported cases of canine anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis in the district of Rímac, Lima, Peru, as well as their association with factors involved in the occurrence of these diseases. In these cases, the presence of anemia and thrombocytopenia is common, which affect normal hematological parameters. All the medical records of the 2018-2021 period of canine patients of the Municipal Veterinary Clinic of Rímac located in the district of Rímac, Lima – Peru, were sampled. The Chi-square statistical test and the contingency coefficient were used to determine the association. All variables were also analyzed using logistic binomial regression. A significance level of 0.05 was used. Ehrlichia canis and Anaplasma spp. were diagnosed in 4.308 % (224/5,200) of medical records. The Chi-square test was used to evaluate the association with the factors of sex, race, age, and season of the year, concluding that there was an association of the diseases with the age group; at a 95 % confidence interval, it was observed that the frequency of cases of E. canis and Anaplasma spp. was 95.98 % and 1.79 %, respectively, and the co-infection of both pathogens was 2.23 %. The logistic regression model included the effects of live weight and sex on the diagnosis of ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis, which were significant. There was a significant association between the diagnosis of canine ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis with age and weight, but there was no effect of breed and season of the year.