Research Communications of the 24th ECVIM-CA Congress

ESVIM-P-4 CAUSES OF CANINE ANEMIA IN TAIWAN: A FIVE-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE SURVEY. E.C.Y. Lin 1 , P.C. Liu 1 , L.L. Chueh 1 , B.L. Su 2 . 1 Graduate Institute of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, 2 Institute of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Anemia is a common hematologic disorder in dogs, however, few data are available regarding epidemiology and causes in Taiwan. To investigate the causes of anemia, 3174 anemic cases (PCV< 37%) collected between January 2008 and December 2012 at National Taiwan University Veterinary Hospital (NTUVH) were analyzed. Most dogs (72.1%, n = 2889) presented with a mild form (25%≦PCV<37%), which was followed by a moderate form (15%≦PCV<25%; 20.8%, n = 660) and a severe form (PCV<15%; 7.1%, n = 225). Among the 2037 dogs with identifiable causes, 70.4% (1435 dogs) were induced by single cause, whereas 29.6% (602 dogs) by multiple causes. Neoplasia-related anemia (n = 460), infectious pathogens-related anemia (n = 287), renal disease-related anemia (n = 251) and post-surgery/ traumarelated anemia (n = 182) account for 32.1, 20.0, 17.6 and 12.7% of single-cause cases, respectively. Furthermore, 123 of them (8.6%) presented with severe anemia. Severe anemia primarily resulted from infectious disease-related anemia (61.8%), followed by IMHA (11.4%), and tumor-related anemia (11.4%). Of the 76 infectious disease-related severe anemic dogs, the most common diagnosed pathogen was Babesia gibsoni (88.2%, n = 67), followed by Ehrlichia canis (6.6%, n = 5)and Babesia canis (3.9%, n = 3). Taken together, tumors, infectious diseases, and renal failure are the most frequently causes of canine anemia in Taiwan, furthermore, B. gibsoni appeared to be the most important infectious pathogen causing severe anemia which may be associated with the climate in this geographical area.