Description
In dogs, Mycoplasma haemocanis and ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haematoparvum’ (canine hemoplasmas) are haemotropic bacteria that attach to erythrocytes, typically causing subclinical infection in immunocompetent animals but haemolytic anaemia in splenectomised, immunocompromised, or co-infected dogs. Clinical signs, when present, include lethargy, anorexia, fever, pale or icteric mucous membranes, splenomegaly, and regenerative haemolytic anaemia with variable thrombocytopenia; acute haemolysis may occur post-splenectomy or with stressors like concurrent Babesia or Ehrlichia infection, while chronic cases show waxing-waning PCV without overt illness.
Diagnosis requires PCR due to low parasitaemia and inconsistent visibility on blood smears; EDTA whole blood is the primary sample for PCR to detect and speciate these organisms, with supportive CBC showing regenerative anaemia, spherocytes, and autoagglutination. Serum may be tested for indirect evidence but lacks specificity. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) on blood is the gold standard, offering high sensitivity to quantify bacterial load, confirm active infection in anaemic dogs, differentiate from immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia, and monitor treatment response.
