May 2022 Newsletter
|
May is Lyme Prevention Month, and it's a good time to talk about ticks and tick-borne diseases. As the weather warms up and we begin to spend more time outdoors, it's important to remember that ticks are also transitioning from their winter dormant phase, hidden in the leafy debris, to their active feeding phase.
|
Deer ticks (also known as black-legged ticks) become active as soon as the temperatures rise to 4°C (39°F) and they remain active all through the spring, summer, fall, and can still be active on warm winter days. Deer ticks carry the bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) that causes Lyme disease, a tick-borne disease that causes painful lameness in dogs.
Lyme disease is transmitted to dogs through the bite of a deer tick. Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease is carried to many parts of the body and commonly localizes in the joints and kidneys. Deer ticks range from the Midwest to the Eastern United States and throughout Canada with the highest numbers found east of Manitoba. Not all deer ticks carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, but certain areas have been identified as higher risk areas for Lyme disease. Check with your veterinarian to find out if your area is a high-risk area.
Dogs cannot transmit Lyme disease to one another nor to humans. The infection always comes directly from a tick bite.
In dogs, signs of Lyme disease can take 2-5 months to appear. Lameness and joint pain, especially in the knee and elbow joints, are often the first signs noticed with Lyme disease. This lameness may shift from leg to leg or may occur intermittently. Dogs may also have a fever. In some cases, the disease resolves on its own, but in other cases it may be long-term and may affect the kidneys and heart resulting in death. Some dogs don't have any obvious signs, so yearly testing for Lyme disease, along with heartworm testing is highly recommended.
While there is treatment available for Lyme disease, it can be difficult to treat, especially if it's not caught early. Prevention is always easier than treatment.
You can help protect your pet from becoming infected with Lyme disease by:
-Using a tick preventive
-Avoiding wooded or grassy areas and stick to trails
-Performing daily tick checks and removing any ticks that you may find (see below)
-Discussing the Lyme vaccine with your veterinarian for dogs living in high-risk areas
Many different tick preventives are available, and your veterinarian will help you chose a preventive that suits you and your pet's lifestyle. Options include topical preventives (typically applied on a pet's skin and at the back of the neck) such as Bravecto Topical Solution. Chewable preventives include Credelio and Bravecto.
Check your pets daily for ticks, especially if you live a high-risk area. Give your dog a full once over, but be sure to focus on the following areas: in and around the ears, around the eyelids, under the collar, between the toes, around the tail, between the back legs, and under the front legs. If you find a tick on your pet, it's important to remove it right away. The bacteria that causes Lyme disease can pass through small cuts or wounds in your skin, so be sure to wear disposable gloves when removing ticks. Juvenile deer ticks are about the size of a pinhead but are more obvious in the adult phase and after feeding on a blood meal. If you find a tick attached to your pet, grasp it with tweezers near the dog's skin and firmly pull it straight out. Pull the tick with even, steady pressure, it may take a minute or two for the tick to release its grip. If you are unable or unsure of how to remove the tick, or if the tick's body breaks away from its head, leaving the head in the skin, contact us as soon as possible.
We are available to help you protect your pet against tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease. Call us to see how tick preventives are being prescribed this year, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
LifeLearn News
Note: This article, written by LifeLearn Animal Health (LifeLearn Inc.) is licensed to this practice for the personal use of our clients.
Lyme disease is transmitted to dogs through the bite of a deer tick. Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease is carried to many parts of the body and commonly localizes in the joints and kidneys. Deer ticks range from the Midwest to the Eastern United States and throughout Canada with the highest numbers found east of Manitoba. Not all deer ticks carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, but certain areas have been identified as higher risk areas for Lyme disease. Check with your veterinarian to find out if your area is a high-risk area.
Dogs cannot transmit Lyme disease to one another nor to humans. The infection always comes directly from a tick bite.
In dogs, signs of Lyme disease can take 2-5 months to appear. Lameness and joint pain, especially in the knee and elbow joints, are often the first signs noticed with Lyme disease. This lameness may shift from leg to leg or may occur intermittently. Dogs may also have a fever. In some cases, the disease resolves on its own, but in other cases it may be long-term and may affect the kidneys and heart resulting in death. Some dogs don't have any obvious signs, so yearly testing for Lyme disease, along with heartworm testing is highly recommended.
While there is treatment available for Lyme disease, it can be difficult to treat, especially if it's not caught early. Prevention is always easier than treatment.
You can help protect your pet from becoming infected with Lyme disease by:
-Using a tick preventive
-Avoiding wooded or grassy areas and stick to trails
-Performing daily tick checks and removing any ticks that you may find (see below)
-Discussing the Lyme vaccine with your veterinarian for dogs living in high-risk areas
Many different tick preventives are available, and your veterinarian will help you chose a preventive that suits you and your pet's lifestyle. Options include topical preventives (typically applied on a pet's skin and at the back of the neck) such as Bravecto Topical Solution. Chewable preventives include Credelio and Bravecto.
Check your pets daily for ticks, especially if you live a high-risk area. Give your dog a full once over, but be sure to focus on the following areas: in and around the ears, around the eyelids, under the collar, between the toes, around the tail, between the back legs, and under the front legs. If you find a tick on your pet, it's important to remove it right away. The bacteria that causes Lyme disease can pass through small cuts or wounds in your skin, so be sure to wear disposable gloves when removing ticks. Juvenile deer ticks are about the size of a pinhead but are more obvious in the adult phase and after feeding on a blood meal. If you find a tick attached to your pet, grasp it with tweezers near the dog's skin and firmly pull it straight out. Pull the tick with even, steady pressure, it may take a minute or two for the tick to release its grip. If you are unable or unsure of how to remove the tick, or if the tick's body breaks away from its head, leaving the head in the skin, contact us as soon as possible.
We are available to help you protect your pet against tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease. Call us to see how tick preventives are being prescribed this year, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
LifeLearn News
Note: This article, written by LifeLearn Animal Health (LifeLearn Inc.) is licensed to this practice for the personal use of our clients.
Echinococcus multilocularis: Ontario, Canada
Echinococcus multilocularis, a small tapeworm with a big name, is causing big concerns in Ontario, an area that was until recently considered free of this parasite. This tapeworm is normally found in the intestinal tract of wild canids (e.g. coyotes, foxes) and can also infect dogs. That itself isn't a problem, since the intestinal form of the worm doesn't make these animals sick. The concern arises when something (or someone) ingests tapeworm eggs from the feces of an animal with the intestinal infection, potentially leading to a different form of infection called alveolar echinococcosis (AE). In this form, the parasite causes tumour-like cysts to form in various parts of the body, particularly in the liver, and the condition can be very difficult to treat by the time it is diagnosed.
In the normal life cycle of this tapeworm, wild canids shed eggs in their feces and those eggs are eaten by small rodents, who develop the parasitic cysts in their bodies. When a canid eats one of those infected rodents, the life cycle continues, as the parasite grows into its adult stage in the canid's gut and produces more eggs.
That's bad for rodents, but the problem is that this "intermediate host" stage can occur in more than rodents, it can also occur in dogs and people (and occasionally other species).
Alveolar echinococcosis has been diagnosed in a small number of Ontario dogs (with no travel history) since 2012, raising questions about how they got infected. The concern was that this parasite might have become established in our wild canid population, which would result in ongoing and widespread risk to people and other animals, and would be hard to control.
Those concerns have been proven true, by a study just published in Emerging Infectious Diseases (Kotwa et al. 2019). For this study, fecal samples were collected from 460 wild canids in Ontario. An astounding 23% of them were positive for Echinococcus multilocularis, with infection concentrated most heavily in the western-central part of the province.
This remarkable set of results show that this parasite is by now well established, at least in parts of Ontario, and that there is local exposure risk through direct or indirect contact with wild canid feces. Dogs that are prone to eating feces or rodents (dead or alive) are at highest risk of exposure. Humans who have contact with coyote feces (e.g. hunters, trappers) are probably also at particularly high risk, but since canids live in such close proximity to people in some areas, including large urban centres, there's a chance for exposure to lots of people through contact with fecally-contaminated outdoor sites.
What is the status of this disease in people in Ontario?
We don't know. The incubation period (the time from ingesting eggs to the time you get sick) is very long (typically 5-15 years). That means we may not really know what's going on in people for some time. Since we have this parasite in wild canids and it's spilled over into dogs, it's almost certain that there are infected people in the province, but they just don't know it yet. That's not meant to be alarmist, since it's still going to be a rare disease; however, we won't know the scope of the problem for some time. Echinococcus multilocularis has also recently been made provincially reportable in Ontario, to help us gather more data.
What can we do?
Avoid contact with wild canids and wild canid feces as much as possible.
Do our best to prevent and treat intestinal infection in dogs. In other areas of the world where this parasite is widespread, dog ownership has been identified as a risk factor for human infection, probably because dogs act as a bridge between households and the wildlife cycle of this parasite. We can treat dogs for tapeworms, but this isn't usually part of routine deworming protocols, so currently only a small percentage of dogs are treated. It is recommended now, especially for dogs that might have contact with wild canids or that are prone to eating things like feces and small rodents.
Inerceptor Plus, which we recommend to prevent heartworm, is used in the treatment and control of Echinococcus Multiocularis.
Resources taken from and more information about this parasite can be found on the Worms & Germs Resources/Pets page, and at emultiontario.com.
Echinococcus multilocularis, a small tapeworm with a big name, is causing big concerns in Ontario, an area that was until recently considered free of this parasite. This tapeworm is normally found in the intestinal tract of wild canids (e.g. coyotes, foxes) and can also infect dogs. That itself isn't a problem, since the intestinal form of the worm doesn't make these animals sick. The concern arises when something (or someone) ingests tapeworm eggs from the feces of an animal with the intestinal infection, potentially leading to a different form of infection called alveolar echinococcosis (AE). In this form, the parasite causes tumour-like cysts to form in various parts of the body, particularly in the liver, and the condition can be very difficult to treat by the time it is diagnosed.
In the normal life cycle of this tapeworm, wild canids shed eggs in their feces and those eggs are eaten by small rodents, who develop the parasitic cysts in their bodies. When a canid eats one of those infected rodents, the life cycle continues, as the parasite grows into its adult stage in the canid's gut and produces more eggs.
That's bad for rodents, but the problem is that this "intermediate host" stage can occur in more than rodents, it can also occur in dogs and people (and occasionally other species).
Alveolar echinococcosis has been diagnosed in a small number of Ontario dogs (with no travel history) since 2012, raising questions about how they got infected. The concern was that this parasite might have become established in our wild canid population, which would result in ongoing and widespread risk to people and other animals, and would be hard to control.
Those concerns have been proven true, by a study just published in Emerging Infectious Diseases (Kotwa et al. 2019). For this study, fecal samples were collected from 460 wild canids in Ontario. An astounding 23% of them were positive for Echinococcus multilocularis, with infection concentrated most heavily in the western-central part of the province.
This remarkable set of results show that this parasite is by now well established, at least in parts of Ontario, and that there is local exposure risk through direct or indirect contact with wild canid feces. Dogs that are prone to eating feces or rodents (dead or alive) are at highest risk of exposure. Humans who have contact with coyote feces (e.g. hunters, trappers) are probably also at particularly high risk, but since canids live in such close proximity to people in some areas, including large urban centres, there's a chance for exposure to lots of people through contact with fecally-contaminated outdoor sites.
What is the status of this disease in people in Ontario?
We don't know. The incubation period (the time from ingesting eggs to the time you get sick) is very long (typically 5-15 years). That means we may not really know what's going on in people for some time. Since we have this parasite in wild canids and it's spilled over into dogs, it's almost certain that there are infected people in the province, but they just don't know it yet. That's not meant to be alarmist, since it's still going to be a rare disease; however, we won't know the scope of the problem for some time. Echinococcus multilocularis has also recently been made provincially reportable in Ontario, to help us gather more data.
What can we do?
Avoid contact with wild canids and wild canid feces as much as possible.
Do our best to prevent and treat intestinal infection in dogs. In other areas of the world where this parasite is widespread, dog ownership has been identified as a risk factor for human infection, probably because dogs act as a bridge between households and the wildlife cycle of this parasite. We can treat dogs for tapeworms, but this isn't usually part of routine deworming protocols, so currently only a small percentage of dogs are treated. It is recommended now, especially for dogs that might have contact with wild canids or that are prone to eating things like feces and small rodents.
Inerceptor Plus, which we recommend to prevent heartworm, is used in the treatment and control of Echinococcus Multiocularis.
Resources taken from and more information about this parasite can be found on the Worms & Germs Resources/Pets page, and at emultiontario.com.