By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

The Chief Veterinary Officer for the  Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment in Australia, Dr Mark Schipp has reported six cases of the tick-borne illness, Ehrlichiosis in at least six domestic household dogs in Kununurrain the Kimberley region.

Image/Chiemsee2016

One dog died from the illness.

Government agencies in Australia will undertake further surveillance for Ehrlichia canis in the dog population in northern Australia.

Department of Primary Industries Chief veterinary officer Michelle Rodan said authorities were unsure how or when ehrlichiosis first arrived in the Kimberley.

“We haven’t detected what the original source is … any dog that entered Australia which is infected and has been bitten by a tick could be a source of the outbreak.

“Once it’s in the tick population, it’s very difficult to control. So the first stage is defining how widespread the distribution is and then in the interim trying to contain it to a region.”

Ehrlichiosis is a tick-borne infectious disease of dogs, usually carried by the brown dog tick.

The organism responsible for this disease is a rickettsial organism. Rickettsiae are similar to bacteria. Ehrlichia canis is the most common rickettsial species involved in ehrlichiosis in dogs, but occasionally other strains of the organism will be found.