Lyme Disease

Borreliosis, also known as lyme disease, can affect dogs, cats, horses, cattle, birds, wild animals, and people. White-tailed deer and white-footed mice appear to be natural carriers of the causitive organism, Borrelia burgdorferi, a corkscrew-shaped bacterium.  It is usually transmitted by the pinhead sized, dark brown nymphs of deer ticks.  Other types of ticks may also transmit the disease.

After the larva hatches from the tick egg, it attaches to small rodents.  As it feeds, larva become infected with the organism.  The larva matures into a nymph, which feeds on the blood of animals and people.  The organism is not injected into the host animal until it attachs for 10-24 hours.  Although adult ticks can spread the disease, the nymph stage poses the most threat because of it's small size.

Signs of lyme disease are vague and resemble other conditions.  Initial signs include rash, fever, joint swelling, pain, and swollen lymph nodes.  Within days or months, more serious signs develop including heart, brain and joint disorders. 

A person is unlikely to contract the disease from their pet unless an unattached tick is removed and allowed to feed on the person. 

Important Points in Treatment:
Response to treatment depends on dog's general health and resistance to disease
Treatment may require weeks
A positive test may always be found depending on the duration of infection

Prevention:
Always inspect your pet & yourself after walking in the woods, fields, or meadows.  If you detect any ticks, do not crush the tick body during removal.  Use tweezers or forceps to grasp the tick's head as close to your pet's skin as possible and gently remove the tick to avoid separation of the tick's head from its body.
Use insectisides and repellents to control tick infestation on your pet such as Frontline Plus or Advantix.
Preventative vaccinations are available to prevent lyme disease in dogs.  It consists of a series of two doses, 2-3 weeks apart followed by annual vaccination.

Positive Test?
If your pet tested positive today, our doctor may offer you a C6 quantitative analysis blood test to determine the age of the infection.  We recommend testing at initial diagnosis and six months from diagnosis and treatment to determine if any new infection has been cleared.  A repeat snap test will also be done.

Please ask our staff any additional questions you may have.