Tick-Borne Diseases on the Rise -- Protect Your Pet and Your Family

By:Ned Gonzalez

Summertime is tick time, as people and their pets take to the great outdoors, enjoying camping, hiking, parks or even their own backyards. After spending time outdoors, it’s important to check both your family and your dog for ticks.

Ticks are known to spread Lyme disease, but are also capable of carrying multiple tick-borne diseases, including canine Anaplasmosis found in the black-legged tick. These diseases create a more dangerous outdoor environment for people and their four-legged friends.

During clinic visits, veterinarians are seeing more dogs suffering from co-infection, making a very troubling situation. As dogs suffer from symptoms brought on by more than one tick-borne disease, their immune systems may become weaker making their recovery more difficult.

Dr. Matt Eberts, a veterinarian in Brainerd, Minn., says that 40 percent of the dogs he examines test positive for Lyme disease. Even more troubling, though, is that 50 percent of dogs entering his clinic show signs of canine Anaplasmosis. The symptoms of this disease are often arthritis-like with multiple painful joints, among other indicators. “There’s really no way for pet owners to know what’s wrong with their dogs without getting their dogs checked regularly,” says Eberts.

Organizations such as the national Lyme Disease Association (LDA) have been educating people about the potential dangers of ticks for years and hope what is learned in the veterinary community opens some eyes. “Lyme disease is a huge concern, but we want people to know there are several other tick-borne diseases out there that can be just as harmful,” says Pat Smith, president of LDA.

Most tick-borne illnesses are difficult to diagnose based on symptoms alone, according to Dr. Stephen Levy, a Durham, Conn. veterinarian who has been on the forefront of tick-borne disease research for the past two decades. Many dogs exhibit no outward evidence of Lyme disease infection or the lesser known tick-borne diseases.

“With the potential range of symptoms brought on by Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections, I encourage pet owners to make testing a standard part of their dogs’ veterinary exams,” says Levy. An in-clinic, diagnostic test is available so dog owners can learn if their pets have contracted a tick-born disease such as Lyme disease or canine Ehrlichiosis, yet another disease transmitted from ticks, prior to leaving the clinic. The test also screens for heartworm, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes.

While getting your dog tested is important for your pet’s health, it can also be important for your family’s health. Smith believes dogs can serve as sentinels for people. “With their furry coats, proximity to the ground, and propensity to roll in leaves and other groundcover, dogs are many times more likely to come in contact with ticks than their owners,” she notes.

SIDEBAR

Common Tick-Borne Diseases

The following examples are some of the most common tick-borne diseases that infect dogs.

* Lyme disease -- transmitted by the deer ticks, the most common visible signs of Lyme disease infection are recurrent arthritis and lameness that lasts for three to four days, sometimes accompanied by loss of appetite and depression. Lyme disease signs may come and go. In many dogs, the signs are not apparent or may not appear for several months after infection.

* Canine Ehrlichiosis -- first appearing in dogs in the early 1970s, this disease is commonly transmitted by the brown dog tick. It has three phases of symptoms – acute, subclinical and chronic. Dogs experiencing the acute phase may demonstrate symptoms including fever, discharge from eyes and nose, lack of appetite, depression, weight loss or swollen lymph glands.

* Canine Anaplasmosis -- is sometimes referred to as dog fever, or dog tick fever. It is transmitted by the deer tick, the same tick that transmits Lyme. Symptoms are often arthritis-like, with multiple painful joints. Other symptoms include high fever accompanied by lethargy, vomiting and diarrhea.

* Rocky Mountain spotted fever -- is transmitted from the American dog tick or the wood tick. In most cases, the disease lasts about two weeks, but in severe cases can end in death. Symptoms include joint swelling and pain, as well as neurological abnormalities.

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For more information on tick-borne disease, visit dogsandticks.com or LymeDiseaseAssociation.org. - ARA

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