Pilotstudie naar de transmissie van Ehrlichia canis met behulp van in vitro membraanvoeding en capillairvoeding. & Het voorkomen van Ehrlichia canis en Rhipicephalus sanguineus in Europa en Nederland.

Abstract

The speculation that Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks infected with Ehrlichia canis are imported into the Netherlands is confirmed with this study, and has to be seen as a signal for the veterinarians. Canine monocytic ehrlichiose can thereby not directly be deleted from the list with differential diagnoses, when the dog never entered an endemic area. The occurrence of E.canis in the Netherlands is probably higher than everyone expected and further research about the transmission is needed. Thereby the purpose of this study was to formulate a protocol for the in vitro feeding of adult R.sanguineus ticks, to investigate the transmission dynamics of E.canis. A few supplements to the protocol of Kröber & Guerin were made, but still there is a low percentage of attachment and a high percentage of dead. For further research about the transmission dynamics of these bacteria with in vitro feeding in the future, this study verified a method to acquire infected ticks with E.canis. It’s possible to feed partly fed adult R.sanguineus ticks with capillary feeding. Unfortunately the grade of infection after the capillary feeding couldn’t be determined. A follow-up study is needed to optimize the protocol for in vitro feeding of R.sanguineus ticks, with the goal to investigate the transmission dynamics of tickborne diseases in the future.