We’re not talking about Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen,
and Paul Pierce with the Boston Celtics or even LeBron, DWade, and Chris Bosh
with the Heat. We’re talking about
the three primary tick-borne diseases – anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and Lyme
disease – that effect dogs and humans.
All three share the same form of transmission. A tick bites an infected animal, with deer and a number of rodents
the main reservoirs of the diseases, in the early stage of its life and then
attaches itself to a dog, human, or other infected mammal who then acquires the
disease. There is a vaccination
for dogs against Lyme disease whose efficacy has been questioned by many, but
it does nothing to prevent a dog from becoming infected with either ehrlichiosis
or anaplasmosis.
Anaplasmosis
and Lyme disease have the same basic clinical signs which often include a high
fever, lethargy, and painful joints.
These problems can vary greatly in degree of severity and the amount of
time it takes for them to manifest in an infected dog. It can take from within a few weeks to
years depending on the dog’s immune system’s ability to fight and suppress the
infection. The clinical signs of
ehrlichiosis can be similar to the other two and can also include more serious
effects like pale gums caused by anemia. It used to be that diagnosing the big
three was a difficult, time consuming,
and expensive process that involved sending blood samples out and
waiting for results. Often
veterinarians were reluctant to begin any type of treatment until the test
results were back and conclusive.
Some of these tests could not differentiate between the actual disease
and the antibodies created by the Lyme vaccine. So if a dog had been vaccinated and then contracted Lyme
disease it became even more difficult to diagnose.
All
three of these tick-borne diseases have spread throughout the United States and
even around the world — although ehrlichiosis is most common in the
Southeast. It is no longer
safe to say that you live in an area that is free from all of these
diseases. In the case of Lyme
disease and anaplasmosis, it is not uncommon for a tick to transmit both at the
same time. In the cases of these
double infections the clinical signs often are more severe and come on more
rapidly. The overpopulation of
deer in many places has been a major contributor to the spread of these
diseases and some localities have gone to the extreme of putting out deer
feeders that cause an insecticide to be applied to every deer that grabs some
grain. Controlling the incidence
of these diseases among the dogs in your kennel requires a multifaceted
approach that includes prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
The
most obvious form of prevention is the diligent use of one of the topical
insecticides. The currently
available products which are based on fipronil or selamectin are relatively
safe and easy to use for most dogs.
Many of these products provide flea protection as well and directions
should be read carefully as more frequent application is required for
protection from ticks. In addition
to topical insecticides on your dog, you need to be concerned about the
immediate area around your kennel.
Keeping the area well mowed and clear of debris where mice and other
small rodents might live should be a part of the program. You should also do what you can to keep
deer away from your kennel, which in many parts of the country is a lot easier
said than done. If your tick
problem is extreme you may have to consider some sort of program of spraying in
the area around your kennel. Even
the most diligent tick control program is unlikely to be 100 percent
effective. Therefore, you have to
be alert to the possible signs of these diseases.
In
field trial dogs we most often detect illness in our dogs by a drop off in
their performance ability. When a
dog suddenly begins to lose a step in workouts or seems stiff and/or in pain,
we need to be alert to the possibility of a tick-borne disease. In a recent case, a dog that had shown
no preliminary symptoms ran just fine in a workout and then lost its
appetite. Within two days it could
barely drag itself out of the sleeping box in its kennel. Rapid diagnosis and treatment becomes
even more critical in these types of extreme cases.
Fortunately
two factors have changed in the diagnosis of tick-borne diseases. First, most vets have become far too
familiar with the outward clinical signs of the diseases due to their increased
incidence among the clients of most veterinary practices. The second factor is the availability
of an easy to use in-clinic test that detects all three tick-borne diseases as
well as heartworm. The Snap 4Dx
test created by Idexx Laboratories requires a small blood sample and takes less
than 10 minutes to present a result.
In the case above, the test showed the dog had a double infection of
both Lyme disease and anaplasmosis.
The Snap 4Dx test does not give a false positive for dogs that have been
vaccinated against Lyme disease.
Prior to the Snap 4Dx test a blood sample had to be sent out for either
an ELISA or Western Blot test which could take a week to 10 days depending on
where you lived and how the sample was sent. Once you know if a dog has a tick-borne disease, treatment
is rather straight forward.
In
most cases, three to four weeks of doxycycline at the rate of 100mg twice a day
(with food) is recommended for field trial size dogs. If a dog is especially lame from inflamed joints a
veterinarian may also prescribe an anti-inflammatory drug. With the case mentioned earlier the dog
appeared pain free within a week and seemed 100 percent before the end of the
treatment with antibiotics.
A
couple of notes of caution should be added here. First, some large kennel operations have begun using a
regular course of antibiotics as a preventative rather than testing and
treating individual dogs. There
are some major drawbacks to this practice as there can be negative side effects
to the drugs as they kill helpful bacteria in the gut that aid digestion and in
the nasal passages that aid in scenting.
In addition, long term and/or frequent use of antibiotics can create
antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The
other caution regards pregnant bitches.
Certain antibiotics can cause a reaction in the bitch which brings about
absorption of the fetuses. To
further complicate the situation with an infected pregnant bitch, the
tick-borne infection, if it progresses, can cause the same reaction. Where treatment is necessary during
pregnancy, owners need to proceed with caution and seek out professional advice
as to alternatives to the usual course of antibiotics.
Chances
are even the most diligent kennel managers are going to experience cases of
tick-borne disease among the dogs in their care. You need to be alert to the possible symptoms and then seek
a firm diagnosis followed by aggressive treatment to avoid long term damage to
your dogs from the big three.
(This article
originally appeared in the Spring Issue of Field Trial Magazine.)
