Ticked Off: Inside The Ehrlichiosis Epidemic With Dr. Peter Irwin - Part 2📄 Episode Show Notes In Part 1 of this series, Dr Liisa Ahlstrom helped us understand what ehrlichiosis is, where it’s spreading across Australia, and why prevention is so different from paralysis tick disease.
In this episode, we take the next step with Professor Peter Irwin, internal medicine specialist and one of Australia’s leading experts on vector-borne disease in dogs. Peter was directly involved in the very first confirmed cases of ehrlichiosis in the Northern Territory back in 2020, and he brings decades of experience in research, teaching, and clinical medicine.
We dive into:
- 🩸 Why Peter ranks ehrlichiosis among the top three most serious canine diseases worldwide
- 🔬 The pathophysiology of Ehrlichia canis — how it causes widespread inflammation, immune complex disease, and systemic illness
- 📈 The phases of disease (acute, subclinical, chronic) and how dogs present in each stage
- 🧪 Key diagnostic clues for nurses to watch for on CBCs, blood smears, and biochemistry
- ⚖️ Differentials and co-infections — when babesiosis or anaplasmosis might also be at play
- 💉 Treatment pearls: doxycycline, supportive nursing care, blood transfusion considerations, and the controversy around corticosteroid use
- 🏥 Surgical implications in endemic regions — pre-anaesthetic platelet checks and monitoring for delayed bleeding
- 🐾 Ehrlichiosis in cats — what’s known, what’s theoretical, and what to watch for
Between Part 1 and Part 2, you now have the full ehrlichiosis picture:
from prevention and epidemiology to the clinic floor and patient care.
🔗 Resources mentioned in this episode
- Australian Government DAFF ehrlichiosis resources
- Fourie et al. 2013 – Transmission within 3 hours of tick bite
- Stanneck & Fourie 2013 – Seresto preventing E. canis transmission
- Jongejan et al. 2016 – Comparing repellents vs systemic tick products
💬 If this episode gave you a lightbulb moment, share it with your clinic team or tag me on Instagram
@vetnursehacker or
@vickythevetnurse.
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