Canine hepatozoonosis is a tick-transmitted disease caused by species of the intraleukocytic parasite Hepatozoon sp., an apicomplexan protozoa of the family Haemogregarinidae. Hepatozoon sp. is transmitted by ingestion of an infected tick. The parasites have an ellipsoidal shape and are about 11 x 4 µm in size.

Hepatozoon canis commonly infects dogs in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide with the Brown Dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, as major vector.

Unique clinical features suggest that a separate species (Hepatozoon americanum) transmitted by the tick Amblyomma maculatum causes disease in dogs in the Southern USA.

Further information

• Shaw, S.E. et al.: Tick-borne infectious diseases of dogs. Trends Parasitol., 17, 2001, 74-80 (Download)
• Baneth, G.: Hepatozoonosis. In: Arthropod-borne Diseases. BSAVA Congress, Birmingham, Scientific Proceedings, 2002 (Download)