A confusing case of canine vector-borne disease: clinical signs and progression in a dog co-infected with Ehrlichia canis and Bartonella vinsonii ssp. berkhoffii

Bartonella spp. are important pathogens in human and veterinary medicine, and bartonellosis is considered as an emerging zoonosis that is being reported with increasing frequency. Of 22 known species and subspecies of Bartonella, seven have been isolated from dogs, causing disease manifestations similar to those seen in human beings. The wide variety of clinical signs and the possible chronic progression of disease manifestations are illustrated in the case of an infected Labrador retriever. Here, the authors discuss the seemingly diverse spectrum of disease manifestations, the co-infections of Bartonella spp. with other vector-borne pathogens (mainly Ehrlichia spp. or Babesia spp.) and the difficulties in microbiological confirmation of an active Bartonella infection, all of which make the disease pathogenesis and clinical diagnosis more problematic.