Dept of Parasit and Tropical Vet Med,Univ of Utrecht,Netherlands Veterinary Parasitology, Vol.
Dogs are susceptible to a number of ehrlichial diseases.
Among them, canine monocytic ehrlichiosisis an important and potentially fatal disease of dogs caused by the rickettsia Ehrlichia canis. The IFA test may be confounded by cross-reactivities between a number of the canine ehrlichial pathogens. This article presents a review of the ehrlichial diseases affecting dogs with reference to their immune responses, host specificities, cross-reactivites and diagnosis. Diagnostic means such as Western immunblot, dot-blot and PCR are discussed. The use of the IFA test as a diagnostic means for E. canis is presented along with its potential pitfalls.