Exotic Pest and Disease Focus for Companion Animal Vets
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ANIMALS Exotic pest and disease focus for companion animal vets This article describes a number of exotic as the Terrestrial Animal Health Code help rule out any suspected exotic, new pests or diseases affecting dogs or cats (World Organisation for Animal Health, or emerging diseases. that may be encountered in imported 2013). However, WTO members can companion animals. It also describes the choose to adopt measures that result in Exotic disease case notes for measures in place to ensure biosecurity a higher level of protection than that veterinarians in practice threats are managed effectively. provided by international standards, Following are details of imported pests provided these are supported by an IRA. The Ministry for Primary Industries and diseases that may present in first- (MPI) ensures New Zealand’s plants, MPI’s IRA for cats, dogs, and canine opinion companion animal veterinary animals and natural resources remain semen was published in November 2009 practice. Cases of three of these diseases free from harmful pests and diseases. and provides the scientific basis for the (all of which are notifiable under the Our biosecurity system includes: measures currently applied to imported Biosecurity Act 1993) have recently been • pre-border measures (import health companion animals. This document is diagnosed in New Zealand: ehrlichiosis, standards – IHSs) that detail the publicly available at www.mpi.govt.nz/ leishmaniasis, and brown dog ticks. testing and inspection of animals document-vault/2796. Attending veterinarians and pathologists required before importing them; worked closely in partnership with MPI • border measures, including Post-border controls to investigate and manage these cases. inspection and quarantine, carried New Zealand’s exotic pest and disease control measures are among the best Ehrlichia canis – Canine monocytic out on arrival or soon after arrival at ehrlichiosis registered Transitional Facilities; and in the world, although no system can eliminate all risk. Maintaining our Worldwide situation: E. canis is • post-border surveillance to inform animal health status also requires reliable widespread in tropical and semi-tropical investigation and response to systems to investigate and respond to regions. This intracellular bacterium biosecurity threats. suspect incursions of exotic disease. is transmitted by the brown dog tick, Practising veterinarians seeing and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. There are Pre-border and border reporting unusual signs and events no reports of natural transmission by controls underpin New Zealand’s animal disease any other means. Import risk analysis (IRA) is a surveillance system (Tana, 2014). New Zealand context: E. canis testing is scientific discipline that transparently MPI’s Investigation and Diagnostic not a requirement of New Zealand’s IHS accommodates known facts, knowledge Centre (IDC) at Wallaceville manages for dogs because the vector is not present gaps and uncertainty (Vose, 2008; World the investigation of, and initial response here. The endemic tick Haemaphysalis Organisation for Animal Health, 2010). to, any suspected exotic animal disease longicornis may feed on dogs, but is not MPI uses IRA to identify pre-border or pest, as well as new or emerging an Ehrlichia vector. At present, owing to hazards such as pathogens that may be syndromes. Animal Incursion the lack of any vector, E. canis is unlikely associated with imported animals, and to Investigators are veterinarians with to become established in New Zealand, assess the likelihood and consequences postgraduate training in epidemiology so it is important to ensure that ticks that of introducing those hazards. IRA and/or pathology, and relevant further could be vectors are not introduced on also informs control measures to training in exotic diseases and pests. They imported cats and dogs (MPI, 2009). manage the identified risks, and helps are supported by expert bacteriologists, communicate the risks to others (Cobb & Clinical presentation: Acute infection virologists, immunologists and MacDiarmid, 2014). is characterised by fever, generalised parasitologists at MPI’s Animal Health lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly and As a signatory to the World Trade Laboratory (AHL) and Plant Health and thrombocytopenia. New Zealand Organisation (WTO) Agreement Environment Laboratory (PHEL). veterinarians are unlikely to see acute on the Application of Sanitary and Veterinary Incursion Investigators cases because sick animals should Phytosanitary Measures, New Zealand respond to calls to the MPI pest and not have been cleared to leave their can employ control measures to imported disease hotline (0800 809 966), typically country of origin. Some dogs that animals, but these measures must from farmers, veterinarians or veterinary recover from the acute phase can remain not be applied arbitrarily, or result in pathologists. MPI investigators are subclinically infected for months or discrimination between countries where willing to hear and discuss any cases years, during which they may clear the similar conditions prevail, or constitute and concerns, however insignificant organism, remain infected or develop a disguised restriction on trade (World they may seem at first, to maximise the chronic disease. It is therefore more Trade Organisation, 1995). WTO likelihood of detecting exotic diseases. likely that chronic-stage infection members agree to base their control They are not concerned if cases under could be presented to a veterinarian measures on international standards, discussion turn out to be false alarms, in New Zealand. Chronic infection is guidelines and recommendations, such and are happy to provide consultancy to characterised by progressive weight loss, 4 Surveillance 43 (2) 2016 bleeding disorders and renal failure. Diseased dogs also have impaired to identify the organism to species level. Clinical findings may also include immunity. This is thought to be caused Treatment options: Leishmaniasis can anaemia, splenomegaly, interstitial by the parasite, as decreased cellular be treated but is not considered curable. pneumonitis, ocular lesions (e.g., anterior immunity coincides with escape Treatment with meglumine antimoniate uveitis, hyphema – see Figure 1) and and replication of Leishmania from and allopurinol is the preferred option meningitis (McQuiston, 2014). macrophages. Sick dogs are likely to have for most stages of the disease, but high levels of parasitaemia and spread Laboratory findings and confirmation: meglumine antimoniate is not available the protozoan back to the sandfly vector. Routine bloodwork in chronic- for veterinary use in New Zealand and Dogs with healthy immune systems stage E. canis infection will typically importation requires ACVM approval. will experience a lag of weeks to years identify a non-regenerative anaemia, Successful treatment results in decreased between exposure and development of thrombocytopenia, lymphocytosis parasitaemia, but treated dogs are still disease (Solano-Gallego et al., 2009). and neutrophilia. Serum considered carriers (Solano-Gallego During this time individuals will often biochemistry changes often include et al., 2009). be seronegative, because the parasite is azotaemia, hyperglobulinaemia and adapted to hide within macrophages. hypoalbuminaemia (McQuiston, 2014). Exotic ticks Conversely, clinically ill dogs usually have Parasites seen within lymphocytes in Worldwide situation: Recent estimates high antibody titres. acute-stage infection are rare in chronic are that 390 of the 900 species of tick stage ehrlichiosis. Ehrlichia infection Laboratory findings and confirmation: across the world can infest people and can be confirmed by PCR testing; IFAT IFAT testing at the MPI AHL may their companion animals (Heath and testing is unhelpful on its own as titres confirm a diagnosis in the face of Hardwick, 2011). Many carry a variety of in dogs that have cleared infection may a suitable travel history, suspicious blood-borne pathogens. Their ability to remain high for many years. clinical signs, or presence of suspicious vector exotic diseases is the reason that organisms on cytology. PCR on blood all exotic tick species are notifiable under Treatment options: Doxycycline therapy and lymph-node aspirates is performed the Biosecurity Act 1993. at 10 mg/kg for 28 days is sufficient to sterilise chronic infection (Neer et New Zealand context: al., 2002). There is a potential onward Only 11 species of transmission risk associated with tick are present in bone marrow transplants and blood New Zealand. Most transfusions, so chronically infected parasitise wild birds, animals should not be used as donors. but one, the cattle tick Haemaphysalis Leishmania infantum – Canine longicornis, is associated leishmaniasis with domestic animals. Worldwide situation: The protozoan Despite stringent parasite Leishmania infantum is found IHS measures against in more than 70 countries, including ticks, there have been southern Europe (especially Spain), increasing numbers of exotic tick interceptions Africa, Asia, South and Central America Figure 1: Anterior uveitis and bleeding disorders such as (where it is called L. chagasi) and epistaxis and hyphema are potential sequelae to chronic at the border in sporadically in the US. Ehrlichia canis infection. Photo: K Gelatt, www.merck.com recent years and at least 17 species have New Zealand context: Import been identified and requirements for dogs do not eradicated. Most of these include testing for L. infantum parasitic hitchhikers