A Scare Close to Home
For Dr. Sreekumari Rajeev of the University of Tennessee, research into tick-borne disease is deeply personal. While teaching at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St. Kittโs and Nevis, her Australian Cattle Dog mix, Sumi, suddenly became inactive and refused food.
At the clinic where her husband practiced, they examined Sumiโs blood and discovered her platelets were loaded with bacteria, a sign of Anaplasma platys, a tick-borne disease similar to ehrlichiosis. The disease can cause severe internal bleeding and, left untreated, may be fatal. Thankfully, with prompt care, Sumi recovered.
The experience left a lasting impression. โWith my knowledge and position, I felt I could do more,โ said Dr. Rajeev.
One Sample, Big Discovery
Starting with a small seed grant, Dr. Rajeev sequenced the full genome of A. platys from Sumiโs blood, creating the first ever reference genome, or complete genetic map, for this pathogen. Then came the breakthrough: her team discovered striking similarities between the A. platys genome and Ehrlichia canis, another dangerous bacterium carried by the brown dog tick.
With a grant from the AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF), Dr. Rajeev is now studying proteins shared by the two pathogens to identify ones that could become potential vaccine targets.
โWe never expected to find this many shared proteins,โ she said. โNow weโre looking for the ones that could meaningfully and cost-effectively be developed into a vaccine.โ
Toward Better Vaccines and Diagnostics
The implications go beyond vaccines. Current tests for these infections cannot always distinguish between pathogens. Dr. Rajeev wants to change that by creating a more sensitive diagnostic to inform veterinarians exactly which bacteria a dog is fighting.
Her approach draws on her prior work in leptospirosis, another bacterial disease, where she identified protein markers that may help lead to a more effective, longer-lasting vaccine.
A Global Impact for Dogs
Brown dog ticks are found worldwide, and dogs are their preferred host. Because E. canis and A. platys only infect dogs, research funding can be hard to secure.
โThat grant meant a lot for me,โ said Dr. Rajeev. โI couldnโt have done it without your help. Itโs difficult to get funding for diseases that only affect dogs, so Iโm very grateful to the AKC Canine Health Foundation for making this possible.โ
Her research has the potential to deliver lifesaving vaccines and diagnostics for dogs around the globe. For Dr. Rajeev, it all began with Sumiโs blood โ a personal case that became the spark for research that could one day save countless dogs and the families who love them.
