Monocytic anaplasmosis in a cow: a case report

A five year old Holstein-Friesian cross breed cow was brought to Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex with the history of anorexia, shivering and respiratory distress since a week. On close physical examination, enlarged prescapular lymph nodes and conjunctival mucous membranes with petechiae were noticed. Physiological parameters like rectal temperature, heart rate and respiratory rates were found to be 105.3 °F, 86 beats per minute and 48 per minute respectively. On hematological examination, hemoglobin and total erythrocyte count were found to be low i.e., 5.2 g/dl and 3.2 million cells/cmm respectively. Peripheral blood smear examination revealed the presence of Anaplasma bovis organisms in the monocytes. Based on these findings a diagnosis of bovine monocytic anaplasmosis was made and the case was treated with two doses of long acting Oxytetracycline @20 mg/kg body weight 48 h apart, I/M, and Meloxicam @0.5 mg/kg body weight, I/M for 5 days. Improvement was noticed after 3 days of treatment.