Myrtle’s Tick-Borne Disease Pathogen Screening Result: To Hurtle Towards Treatment, or Not?

Signalment
Myrtle: 6 year-old female spayed Labrador Retriever
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Background: Annual wellness visit
Authors: Michelle Evason, BSc, DVM, DACVIM, MRCVS and Holly Brown, DVM, PhD, DACVP

Overview

Myrtle, a 6-year-old female spayed dog, presented to her veterinary clinic for her annual health evaluation. As part of her wellness lab work, a blood sample was submitted for Accuplex™ testing to screen for exposure to tick-borne disease pathogens including Lyme (Borrelia burgdorferi), Ehrlichia spp. and Anaplasma spp., and the heartworm antigen (Dirofilaria
immitis). The results of her annual screening test surprised her owners and showed the importance of regular diagnostics.

Background

Myrtle presents to her veterinary care team for her annual wellness visit. She lives on an extensive property and is allowed to roam but prefers to stay close to her home. She is an active dog and frequently accompanies her family on hikes. Her human family also consists of two teenage children. There is one other dog in the family. Her owners report that they have been compliant with parasite prevention and her vaccine status is up to date

Physical Examination

On physical exam, Myrtle was in good body condition and had no overt health concerns.

Diagnostic Process

Myrtle’s veterinarian followed veterinary expert- and evidence- based guidelines that advise annual screening in adult dogs for heartworm and tick-borne disease pathogens.

Blood test: The Accuplex™ blood test was performed to provide a comprehensive assessment for the following common vector- borne disease (VBD) concerns in dogs: Lyme-Borrelia burgdorferi (C6), Ehrlichia canis, E. ewingii, E. chaffeensis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, A. platys, and Dirofilaria immitis (Heartworm).

Diagnostic Finding: Myrtle’s Accuplex detected Anaplasma spp. antibodies but was negative for all other VBD pathogens tested.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Reaching a Diagnosis: With a positive antibody test, Myrtle’s veterinary care team determined that she had been exposed to a tick (likely Ixodes scapularis, deer tick) that transmitted Anaplasma spp. and had developed antibodies.

After communicating this information, her owners wanted to know if she would require treatment with antibiotics.

Myrtle’s veterinarian decided to utilize a clinical decision-making algorithm to communicate with her owners on options for next steps. Using that information, together with the provided history from her owners that she was feeling well, they could then decide on whether specific antibiotic treatment was needed.

Follow-up Testing: After this conversation, they arrived at a shared decision to proceed with additional objective data testing to help determine that she had no abnormal findings. They performed a complete blood count (CBC) and blood film evaluation to assess for any clinicopathologic changes that would be consistent with disease concerns.
Diagnostic Finding: Myrtle’s CBC and blood film showed no abnormalities, and as she was clinically healthy, the decision was made not to treat her in keeping with mindful antimicrobial use, stewardship, and the desire to avoid any adverse drug side effects.

Treatment and Management

With this information, Myrtle’s veterinarian felt confident that her test result most likely indicated previous exposure to Anaplasma spp. vs. active clinical disease (anaplasmosis) and was comfortable managing her ongoing preventive care needs.

Her veterinary team implemented strategies to aid owner compliance, including reviewing Myrtle’s parasite prevention plan with her owners and using tick-borne pathogen maps to show her owners disease risk in their region.

Anaplasmosis is a disease of rising importance for humans and dogs in the U.S. and Canada, so her veterinary team made sure to communicate that her Accuplex test result also highlighted the shared risk for them, their children, and their other pets. Shared environments, including going on the same hikes with our pets, means we face the same tick risks.

Case Impact

Myrtle’s annual wellness visit spotlights the importance of regular screening for VBD pathogens with evidence- backed tests like Accuplex, and the critical role veterinary teams play in raising awareness on One Health risks like anaplasmosis and other tick-borne diseases. Using Accuplex, Myrtle’s veterinarian was able to confidently perform tick-borne disease screening as part of her wellness visit, communicate next steps in clinical decision-making, and arrive at a shared decision with Myrtle’s owners on how to proceed. This finding showed Myrtle’s tick-borne disease pathogen exposure, allowed for actionable antimicrobial stewardship in her case management, and alerted her human (and pet) family of their own potential infection risks.

Interested in Learning More?

Explore Our Vector-Borne Disease Publications from the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (JVIM) October 2025:

Performance of a Silicon Surface Multiplex Immunoassay for Anaplasma spp. Antibody Detection in Dogs, Bilbrough G, et al. 210 Abstract in JVIM 2025
Performance of a Proprietary Silicon Surface Multiplex Immunoassay for Ehrlichia spp Antibody Detection in Dogs, Bilbrough G, et al. 192 Abstract in JVIM 2025
Field Validation of Anaplasma spp. and Ehrlichia spp. Antibody Screening Tests in Dogs, Sokolchik I, et al. 199 Abstract in JVIM 2025
Comparison of Two In-House Screening Tests for Anaplasma and Ehrlichia spp. Antibody Detection in Dogs, Lamichlane C, et al. 198 Abstract in JVIM 2025
Validation of an In-House Diagnostic Screening Test for Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in naturally exposed dogs, Lamichlane C, et al. 209 Abstract in JVIM 2025
Comparative Evaluation of Two Canine Vector-Borne Disease Pathogen PCR Panels. Leutenegger CM, et al. JVIM 2025
Atovaquone Resistance M121I Polymorphism in Babesia gibsoni Isolates from Dogs, Leutenegger CM, et al. JVIM 2025

Product Information

US CODE
AC100

CANADA CODE
CAC100

SPECIMEN
0.5 mL SERUM

TURNAROUND DAYS
1 – 2 DAYS

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