Canine infection with Dirofilaria immitis, Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma spp., and Ehrlichia spp. in the United States, 2013-2019

BACKGROUND

Dogs in the US are commonly infected with vector-borne pathogens, including heartworm and tick-borne disease agents. The geographic distribution of both arthropod vectors and the pathogens they transmit continues to expand.

METHODS

To describe the current geographic distribution and prevalence of antigen of Dirofilaria immitis and antibody to Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia spp., and Anaplasma spp. in dogs, we summarized over 144 million test results from 2013 to 2019, inclusive, by county, state, and region. Canine seroprevalence by state was compared to population-adjusted human reports of tick-borne diseases.

RESULTS

Results varied regionally, with D. immitis antigen and Ehrlichia spp. antibodies more frequently detected in the Southeast (2.6% and 5.2%, respectively) and antibody to B. burgdorferi and Anaplasma spp. most common in the Northeast (12.1% and 7.3%, respectively). Overall, percent positive test results to D. immitis decreased in the Southeast by 33.3% when compared to earlier summaries using the same strategy (from 3.9 to 2.6%). Geographic expansion of areas where dogs commonly test positive for Ehrlichia spp. was evident, likely because of a change in the test made in 2012 to allow detection of antibodies to E. ewingii concomitant with expansion of vector tick populations. Percent positive test results to Ehrlichia spp. increased in every region; this shift was particularly pronounced in the Southeast, where percent positive test results increased fourfold (from 1.3 to 5.2%). Continued geographic expansion of B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum was apparent in the Northeast, Midwest, and Upper South, although canine seroprevalence of antibody to B. burgdorferi was much lower than prior surveys in many Lyme-endemic areas. Annual reports of human cases of Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis were associated with percent positive canine results by state for the three tick-borne disease agents (R2 = 0.812, 0.521, and 0.546, respectively). Within endemic areas, percent positive test results for all three tick-borne agents demonstrated evidence of geographic expansion.

CONCLUSIONS

Large scale analysis of results from screening dogs in practice for evidence of vector-borne infections, including those with zoonotic importance, continues to be a valuable strategy for understanding geographic trends in infection risk over time.

Trends in canine seroprevalence to Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma spp. in the eastern USA, 2010-2017

Background

Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum are tick-borne infections transmitted by Ixodes scapularis in the eastern USA; both agents cause disease in dogs and people. To characterize changes in seroprevalence over time, Cochran Armitage trend tests were used to evaluate percent positive test results for antibodies to B. burgdorferi and Anaplasma spp. in approximately 20 million canine tests from 2010–2017 in 25 states and 905 counties in the eastern USA.

Results

A significant decreasing trend in seroprevalence to B. burgdorferi was evident in eight states along the mid-Atlantic coast from Virginia to New Hampshire, and in Wisconsin. In contrast, a continued increasing trend was evident in five northeastern and Midwestern states where Lyme borreliosis is endemic or emerging, as well as in three southern states where endemicity has not yet been widely established. Similarly, seroprevalence to Anaplasma spp. showed a significant, although smaller, decreasing trend in five states along the mid-Atlantic coast from Virginia to Connecticut and Rhode Island, as well as in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the Midwest; despite the fact that those trends were significant they were weak. However, a strong increasing trend was evident in Massachusetts and three states in northern New England as well as in Pennsylvania.

Conclusions

As expected, seroprevalence continued to increase in regions where Lyme borreliosis and anaplasmosis are more newly endemic. However, the declining seroprevalence evident in other areas was not anticipated. Although the reasons for the decreasing trends are not clear, our finding may reflect shifting ecologic factors that have resulted in decreased infection risk or the combined positive influence of canine vaccination, tick control, and routine testing of dogs in regions where these infections have long been endemic. Analysis of trends in canine test results for tick-borne infections continues to be a valuable tool to understand relative geographical and temporal risk for these zoonotic agents.