TICKS: Beyond Lyme Disease & "Ewww!"
If you have lived in northern Wisconsin long enough you probably have run into a tick or two, or hundreds. You may be familiar with the most common risk with ticks as carriers of Lyme disease. Here are some things you may not know about tick diseases:
•The ticks in our area can carry many diseases that can effect both people and pets (Lyme, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are some of the most common)
•Of the many tick diseases, only Lyme disease has an available vaccine for dogs
•No vaccine (including the Lyme vaccine) is 100% effective at preventing diseases
•A multimodal approach to tick disease prevention is considered the most effective at keeping your pets safe (Lyme vaccine, topical or oral tick prevention products, daily tick checking, avoiding wooded or long grass areas during peak tick season)
•It can sometimes take several months after a tick bite for disease symptoms to develop
•Symptoms of tick diseases can include lethargy, anorexia, lameness, swollen painful joints, high fever
•The classic “bullseye” appearance of a tick bite that is described in people with Lyme disease is not typically seen in dogs
•Many tick disease infections carry a good prognosis if treated promptly and with the entire course of prescribed antibiotics
•Some tick disease infections can cause very serious side effects that may be fatal (ex. Lyme disease in some dogs can lead to a potentially fatal kidney failure)
Call us if you have other questions about tick diseases! Dr. Sarah Myers, Willow Animal Hospital
(photo courtesy of: www.pvguide.org)
Click HERE for 5 ways to protect your pet from Lyme disease.
Click HERE to learn more about protecting yourself & your family from Lyme disease.
