Retrospective Analysis of Clinical Presentation, Severity Grading, and Seasonal Dynamics of Canine Ehrlichiosis with Respect to Breed, Sex, and Age in India

The present study tested 212 dogs for ehrlichiosis, based on the observation of two to three characteristic clinical symptoms of the disease. All assessed canines underwent blood smear screening to determine their disease status. The ehrlichia-positive dogs typically exhibited two notable clinical symptoms: elevated fever and lymphadenomegaly. Conversely, additional infrequent symptoms such as melena, mucosal pallor, depression, weight loss, tick infestation, ecchymotic and petechial haemorrhages, ascites, epistaxis, ocular abnormalities, vomiting, hind limb/scrotal oedema, and facial oedema were also noted. The essential metrics, including rectal temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate, exhibited a notable elevation. The incidence of positive ehrlichiosis cases was recorded in relation to age, sex, breed, and season. Among the age group of 0 to 6 months, 6 months to one year and more than a year the age group of more than one year showed highest positive percentage a positivity score of 68.07%. The gender with the highest positive rating was male, at 63.86%. The German Shepherd breed constitutes 38.65% of the total, whilst the monsoon season accounts for 40.34% of incidence.