What You Can Do to Prevent Lyme Disease in Dogs

Modern day living has a lot going for it, but possibly the leading attributes have to do with advances in medical arts. Disease has always been one of our greatest foes, but via timely and routine vaccinations, education, and preventive practices, we can live a relatively healthy life. This goes for our pets, too.

Lyme disease in dogs remains a formidable threat, but there are several ways to counteract possible exposure to this serious illness.

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Ticks on Dogs: Know What to Look For

We all know that spring and summer are seasons to be on high alert for ticks. Dogs are particularly susceptible to tick bites and can also carry them into the house. Tick-borne diseases, including Lyme Disease, Canine Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Canine Anaplasmosis, and several others affect both humans and dogs.

And although ticks are common throughout the country, people in some states are more at risk than others. For example, Pennsylvania and Virginia are among the 14 states with the highest rate of confirmed Lyme Disease cases in the country. If you live in either of these states, you should be extra vigilant, take preventative measure and check your dog for ticks frequently.

To read more on this story, click here: Ticks on Dogs: Know What to Look For

Lyme Disease in Dogs: What You Need To Know

You’ve probably heard of Lyme disease. You or someone you know may have even tested positive for it, but did you know that your furry friend is just as at-risk for exposure to this dangerous disease as you are, maybe even more so? Fortunately, cats are not at risk for acquiring Lyme disease, but as we now know, their canine counterparts certainly are.

Research indicates that in 2016 and 2017, 1 in 8 dogs in Roanoke County tested positive for Lyme disease. In 2018, 1 in 9 dogs in Roanoke County tested positive, an improvement from previous years. It may seem hopeful that perhaps the tick population in our area is now less than what it was in previous years, however we strongly believe fewer dogs have tested positive for Lyme disease because of increased efforts to prevent disease transmission, like vaccination and year-round flea/tick prevention. So what exactly is Lyme disease and how can you protect your dog? We’ll answer these questions and more in this blog post!

To read more on this story, click here: Lyme Disease in Dogs: What You Need To Know

How to Remove a Tick from a Person

Most ticks do not carry diseases, and most tick bites do not cause serious health problems. But it is important to remove a tick as soon as you find it. Removing the tick completely may help you avoid diseases such as Lyme disease that the tick may pass on during feeding, or a skin infection where it bit you.

When you return home from areas where ticks might live, carefully examine your skin and scalp for ticks. Check your pets, too.

Lyme Disease in Dogs- What You Need to Know!

Summer is approaching and the flea and tick season is rampant.  While you are with your dogs’ either walking, hiking, or at the beach, there is always a chance that they will get bitten by a flea or tick.  And ticks can carry a number of illnesses, including Lyme disease which can affect dogs and humans.  Lyme disease can cause tiredness, fever and joint pain in your dogs.

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an infection that causes arthritis and lameness and is transmitted to dogs (and some cats) through the bite of infected ticks. If it is untreated, Lyme disease in dogs can cause heart, kidney, and neurological problems. Lyme disease is a zoonotic disease, which means it can be spread from animals to humans. Lyme disease can be transmitted if an infected tick from a dog bites a human.  Cats can get Lyme Disease but it is very rare and the symptoms are just like those in dogs.

Lyme disease is more common in certain areas of the United States, including the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and upper Midwest.

Symptoms of Lyme disease

Some of the symptoms may not appear for several months after a dog is infected with Lyme disease. And some infected dogs don’t always show the symptoms.  The signs of infection can typically include the following:

Your dog is very tired and stops exercising, fever, joint pain, loss of appetite, symptoms seem to get better and then re-appear later.

A Quick-Moving and Potentially Fatal Virus from a Tick Has Been Found in the U.S. in the Northeast and Great Lakes area

A quick-moving and potentially fatal virus has been found in the U.S. in the Northeast and Great Lakes area.

Carried and transferred to people and pets by ticks, the Powassan virus can infect the central nervous system, causing similar symptoms to Lyme disease, but more severe and without any cure.

Once bitten by an infected tick, it only takes a matter of hours before symptoms begin to occur. The patients infected are likely to become susceptible to neurological damage due to inflammation of the brain, which can lead to both encephalitis and meningitis.

Currently, approximately ten percent of cases have led to death, with only 50 people affected in the U.S. each year (compared to the roughly 20,000 people who are affected by Lyme disease).

Although contracting the disease is quite rare, because of the possible fatality, doctors are urging people to do everything they can to prevent being infected. For people who work outdoors or camp in any of the affected areas, the chance of becoming infected is much higher.

Here are the main guidelines to follow to protect your family:

• Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass.
• Complete a full body check on yourself, children, and pets when spending time outdoors.
• Carry and use bug spray.

Doctors Are Warning the Public About a Tick-Born Illness That Poses a Much More Serious Health Risk Than Lyme Disease

Doctors are warning the public about a tick-born illness that poses a much more serious health risk than Lyme Disease.

Known as the Powassan virus, blacklegged ticks (as well as groundhog ticks) are increasingly carrying the potentially deadly disease.

The rare virus falls under the same family as the West Nile virus and has symptoms similar to those of Lyme disease. However the virus acts extremely rapidly – people can begin to feel symptoms in just a matter of minutes – and the symptoms are severe. The incurable disease attacks the central nervous system and can cause vomiting, fever, headache, weakness, confusion, seizures, swelling of the brain and memory loss.

Currently, there are only around 50 people affected in the U.S. each year (compared to the estimated 20,000 people who are affected by Lyme disease) and there have only been 16 human cases reported in Eastern Canada, since it was first detected in Ontario back in 1958. Ten percent of people contracting Powassan virus die.

There has been a noticeable spike in the virus in 2015, with the virus being detected in the upper mid-west, Northeast and Great Lakes area of the U.S.

Although contracting the virus is still extremely rare, because of the potential for fatalities, authorities are warning people to take extra precautions to prevent becoming infected.

Health experts are recommending people use tick repellent and wear long sleeves and pants when spending time in wooded or bushy areas.

They also advise to take your clothes off and shower when home after spending time in the woods or areas that have ticks. Clothes can also be put into the dryer for at least an hour on high heat to kill the ticks.

Pets should also be checked for ticks if they accompany you on walks in wooded areas or regularly go outside.

Please share this video to help spread the word to prevent tick-born illnesses.

Opossum, the American Marsupial That Dines on Ticks: Where Lyme Disease Goes to Die

They come out at night, they have scary teeth, they have a weird name with an extra vowel most people don't pronounce…and they are where Lyme disease goes to die.

Say hello to the opossum, the American marsupial with a pointy nose and prehensile tail that dines on ticks like a vacuum dines on dust.

Most people drop the first vowel when speaking of 'possums, but possums actually belong to a different species native to Australia.

Tiny adolescent ticks that carry Lyme disease bacteria are most active during the late spring months, typically May and even as early as April during warmer years.

But whereas these ticks can be found in large numbers on mice, shrews and chipmunks, they are eaten in large numbers by opossum.

Research led by scientists based at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook placed different species into cages, covered them with ticks and waited for the biting arachnids to jump off.

The scientists then counted how many survived.

Opossums can eat or remove as much as 96 percent of the ticks that land on them.

Research also suggests the immune system of opossums is fairly effective at fighting off the disease.

So even the ticks that do survive a visit to an opossum are less likely to acquire the disease.

Cary scientists are continuing to examine the correlation between the frequency of different types of mammals, and the infection rates of ticks found in the same area.

The initial thought? Where foxes thrive, Lyme doesn't.

That's because foxes are good hunters of the small mammals that serve as the most effective reservoirs of the Lyme pathogen.

Ongoing research is also looking at the role opossums play.

All of this points to why Lyme is a particularly inscrutable disease.

There are so many complex interactions that govern its prevalence — from human land-use development, to shifting climate patterns, to the abundance (or lack) of certain mammals.

And that doesn't even address how the disease behaves once it is in the body. The Lyme bacterium is apparently one of the only things on earth that doesn't need iron to survive.

Opossums are your friend in the fight against Lyme.

How to Remove a Tick from Your Pet

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says, So, you’ve found a tick on your pet...how do you deal with it? While it’s important to get these little suckers off quickly, (ASPCA) veterinarians advise that you stay calm and don’t rush it. Moving too fast when removing a tick could potentially create more problems, both for your pet and for you.

There are some very good products on the market designed specifically for safe tick removal. If you live in a tick-heavy area or are taking your pets to a place where they are likely to get ticks, it’s a good idea to buy one of these tools and have it on hand. They generally work better than tweezers at getting out the whole tick, and are relatively inexpensive.