Affiliation:
1. Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078
Abstract
SUMMARY
American canine hepatozoonosis (ACH) is a tick-borne disease that is spreading in the southeastern and south-central United States. Characterized by marked leukocytosis and periosteal bone proliferation, ACH is very debilitating and often fatal. Dogs acquire infection by ingesting nymphal or adult Gulf Coast ticks (
Amblyomma maculatum
) that, in a previous life stage, ingested the parasite in a blood meal taken from some vertebrate intermediate host. ACH is caused by the apicomplexan
Hepatozoon americanum
and has been differentiated from Old World canine hepatozoonosis caused by
H. canis.
Unlike
H. canis
, which is transmitted by the ubiquitous brown dog tick (
Rhipicephalus sanguineus
),
H. americanum
is essentially an accidental parasite of dogs, for which Gulf Coast ticks are not favored hosts. The geographic portrait of the disease parallels the known distribution of the Gulf Coast tick, which has expanded in recent years. Thus, the endemic cycle of
H. americanum
involves
A. maculatum
as definitive host and some vertebrate intermediate host(s) yet to be identified. Although coyotes (
Canis latrans
) are known to be infected, it is not known how important this host is in maintaining the endemic cycle. This review covers the biology of the parasite and of the tick that transmits it and contrasts ACH with classical canine hepatozoonosis. Clinical aspects of the disease are discussed, including diagnosis and treatment, and puzzling epidemiologic issues are examined. Brief consideration is given to the potential for ACH to be used as a model for study of angiogenesis and of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Microbiology (medical),Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health,General Immunology and Microbiology,Epidemiology
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3. Genetic and Antigenic Evidence Supports the Separation of
Hepatozoon canis
and
Hepatozoon americanum
at the Species Level
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5. J. Med. Entomol.
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