Journal Article

Canine infection with Dirofilaria immitis, Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma spp., and Ehrlichia spp. in the United States, 2013–2019

Knupp, Andrew, Beall, Melissa, Little, Susan, Place, Joshua, Braff, Jennifer, Buch, Jesse, Dewage, Bhagya Galkissa

2021

Overview

Background Dogs in the US are commonly infected with vector-borne pathogens, including heartworm and tick-borne disease agents. The geographic distribution of both arthropod vectors and the pathogens they transmit continues to expand. Methods To describe the current geographic distribution and prevalence of antigen of Dirofilaria immitis and antibody to Borrelia burgdorferi , Ehrlichia spp., and Anaplasma spp. in dogs, we summarized over 144 million test results from 2013 to 2019, inclusive, by county, state, and region. Canine seroprevalence by state was compared to population-adjusted human reports of tick-borne diseases. Results Results varied regionally, with D. immitis antigen and Ehrlichia spp. antibodies more frequently detected in the Southeast (2.6% and 5.2%, respectively) and antibody to B. burgdorferi and Anaplasma spp. most common in the Northeast (12.1% and 7.3%, respectively). Overall, percent positive test results to D. immitis decreased in the Southeast by 33.3% when compared to earlier summaries using the same strategy (from 3.9 to 2.6%). Geographic expansion of areas where dogs commonly test positive for Ehrlichia spp. was evident, likely because of a change in the test made in 2012 to allow detection of antibodies to E. ewingii concomitant with expansion of vector tick populations. Percent positive test results to Ehrlichia spp. increased in every region; this shift was particularly pronounced in the Southeast, where percent positive test results increased fourfold (from 1.3 to 5.2%). Continued geographic expansion of B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum was apparent in the Northeast, Midwest, and Upper South, although canine seroprevalence of antibody to B. burgdorferi was much lower than prior surveys in many Lyme-endemic areas. Annual reports of human cases of Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis were associated with percent positive canine results by state for the three tick-borne disease agents ( R 2  = 0.812, 0.521, and 0.546, respectively). Within endemic areas, percent positive test results for all three tick-borne agents demonstrated evidence of geographic expansion. Conclusions Large scale analysis of results from screening dogs in practice for evidence of vector-borne infections, including those with zoonotic importance, continues to be a valuable strategy for understanding geographic trends in infection risk over time. Graphical Abstract

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: 4DxPlus / Anaplasma / Anaplasma - immunology / Anaplasma - isolation & purification / Anaplasmosis / Anaplasmosis - epidemiology / Animals / Annual reports / Antibodies / Antibodies, Bacterial - blood / Antibodies, Helminth - blood / Antibody / Antigen / Antigens / Antigens, Helminth - blood / Arachnids / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / Borrelia burgdorferi / Borrelia burgdorferi - immunology / Borrelia burgdorferi - isolation & purification / Canine / Coronary artery disease / Current distribution / Dirofilaria immitis / Dirofilaria immitis - immunology / Dirofilaria immitis - isolation & purification / Dirofilariasis - epidemiology / Diseases / Dog Diseases - epidemiology / Dogs / Dogs - microbiology / Dogs - parasitology / Ehrlichia / Ehrlichia - immunology / Ehrlichia - isolation & purification / Ehrlichia canis - immunology / Ehrlichia canis - isolation & purification / Ehrlichiosis / Ehrlichiosis - epidemiology / Ehrlichiosis - veterinary / Entomology / Expansion / Geographical distribution / Gram-negative bacteria / Health aspects / Health risks / Heart diseases / heartworms / Host-parasite relationships / Humans / Infections / Infectious Diseases / Lyme disease / Lyme Disease - epidemiology / Lyme Disease - veterinary / Medical geography / Medical laboratories / Medical research / Medicine, Experimental / Nematoda / Parasites of veterinary importance / Parasitic diseases / Parasitology / Pathogens / Prevalence / Regions / Retrospective Studies / risk / Seroepidemiologic Studies / Serology / seroprevalence / Surveys / Tick-borne diseases / Tick-Borne Diseases - epidemiology / Tick-Borne Diseases - veterinary / ticks / Tropical Medicine / United States - epidemiology / Vector Borne Diseases - microbiology / Vector Borne Diseases - parasitology / Vector Borne Diseases - veterinary / Vector-borne diseases / Vectors / Vectors (Biology) / Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science / Virology / Zoonoses - microbiology / Zoonoses - parasitology