EHRLICHIOSIS

An acute (abrupt-onset) disease (first reported in humans in 1986) due to infection by the rickettsial agent, Ehrlichia canis. The brown dog tick, is the common vector (carrier). The disease is similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever with high fever, headache, malaise, and muscle pain but no rash. Named for the great German Nobel Prize winning physician and bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915).