Potomac horse fever

POTOMAC HORSE FEVER

Synonym

  • Equine monocytic ehrlichiosis

Etiology

  • Ehrlichia risticii

Incidence

  • First reported in Potomac River, USA in 1979

Transmission

  • Seasonal occurrence. Occurs in summer months by arthropod vector

Clinical signs

  • Biphasic fever
  • Anorexia
  • Colic
  • Diarrhoea
  • Leucopenia
  • Thrombocytopenia
  • Organism seen in circulating monocytes
  • Anemia
  • Dehydration and shock
  • Mortality rate is 30%

Lesions

  • No diagnostic lesion
  • Haemorrhages in caecum and colon
  • Watery contents in stomach and small intestine
  • Mesentric lymphnodes enlarged & haemorhagic
Last modified: Thursday, 22 March 2012, 4:55 AM