Doggone Ticks

From every corner of South County, a Lilliputian army of eight-legged foot soldiers has launched a life-or-death reconnaissance mission. They’re adult deer ticks, and they’re out for blood.

“Last week I found eight ticks on a Labradoodle,” noted Emily Patterson of DeTails Pet Grooming in Narragansett. Patterson explained how the dog's dense, wavy, black fur provided great tick camouflage. “Actually, we’ve been seeing ticks on dogs for about three weeks now,” she said.

Dr. Thomas N. Mather, Professor of Entomology and Director of the Center for Vector-Borne Disease at the University of Rhode Island (URI) predicted that a  from last autumn might survive in large numbers, thanks to this winter’s persistent insulating blanket of snow.

Veterinarians from Charlestown to Saunderstown reflected this week upon the recent surge in deer ticks in South County. “They’re very prevalent now,” emphasized Dr. Seychelle Hoffer of Atlantic Animal Hospital in Charlestown, RI. “All it takes is a break in the frost and the ticks come out,” she added.

Welcome to Their World

Deer ticks have voracious appetites for mammalian blood, and man’s best friend is a prime candidate for tick bites. “If we were to screen all the dogs in Rhode Island, 70% to 80% of them would test positive” for at least one tick-borne illness, estimated Dr. Meredith Bird of Veterinary Services of Wickford in Saunderstown, RI.

“We’re in the Lyme Belt,” she quipped. Dr. Bird, who is also an area expert in exotic pets and wildlife rehabilitation, said that she has not so far observed any tick diseases in pet reptiles, birds, or ferrets.

Cats are generally not affected by tick diseases, either. Dr. Mary Coffey of Veterinary House Call Service, based in Carolina, RI, said the theory is that “Ticks don’t stay on cats long enough,” referring to cats’ endless self-grooming.

At the other end of the pet size spectrum, "Anaplasmosis is a very common diagnosis in horses in RI," said Scott Marshall, D.V.M., State Veterinarian with the RI Department of Environmental Management, Division of Agriculture. Dr. Marshall, an equine expert, continued, "I practiced for 20 years and saw maybe three to four cases of EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) over that time frame (but) I probably treated on average three to five cases of anaplasmosis a week.

“Lyme in horses is a little more of an enigma,” Dr. Marshall continued. Experts at Cornell University, he said, “consider true Lyme Disease infection to be a rare occurrence” despite the presence of high titers (concentrations) of Lyme Disease antibodies in horses’ blood.

Canine Lyme Disease Vaccine

While dogs play host to a slew of different parasites, including intestinal worms, heartworm, and at least one dog-tick disease (canine ehrlichiosis), two infections transmitted by deer ticks are of particular concern in South County: Lyme Disease and anaplasmosis.

Fortunately, the well-established effectiveness of Lyme Disease vaccination in dogs has reduced the incidence and severity of Lyme Disease in South County pets. Dr. Hoffer explained that there are three pharmaceutical companies that manufacture canine Lyme Disease vaccines and all boast a 90% efficacy rate. “Even if a dog is exposed (to a tick bite) and gets sick,” she said, the duration of disease is “not as severe if the dog has been vaccinated.”

Unvaccinated dogs, on the other hand, can be hit with a double-whammy: They can be simultaneously co-infected with anaplasmosis and Lyme Disease.

Symptoms of Anaplasmosis and Lyme Disease

Symptoms of anaplasmosis are indistinct. You might notice a general malaise or sense that your dog just isn’t “right.” That’s what coaxed South Kingstown resident Candy McKenna to bring her shepherd-mix Hanna Rose to the vet. A blood test showed that the dog had anaplasmosis. Within 12 hours after receiving intravenous fluids and antibiotics, the 35-pound shepherd-mix was noticeably better. A few days later Hanna Rose was back to her usual self.

Symptoms of Lyme Disease, on the other hand, are somewhat easier to pinpoint - sudden lameness, reluctance to move, or a swollen joint. Pet owners might mistakenly attribute the symptoms of Lyme Disease in their dog to an incidental injury or the aging process. That could be a fatal miscalculation.

“Sometimes animals are stoic,” Dr. Coffey explained. Your dog could be suffering more than you think. “If your dog doesn’t feel well, it’s worth it to let the vet decide,” added Dr. Bird.

Untreated Lyme Disease can lead to Lyme nephritis and  “almost universally fatal” kidney failure, explained Dr. Hoffer. And not just in old dogs. “The few times I’ve seen (Lyme nephritis), it’s in younger or middle-age dogs,” she said.

IDEXX SNAP®  4Dx®  Test - Answers in Eight Minutes

Thanks to an inexpensive (less than $50) blood test that can be performed in the vet’s office, there is no need to take a wait-and-see with your dog’s health. The SNAP 4Dx Test from IDEXX Laboratories is a four-fer. It tests your dog’s blood for heartworm, ehrlichiosis, Lyme Disease, and anaplasmosis.

Depending on your pet’s symptoms and its history with Lyme Disease and anaplasmosis, the vet might or might not prescribe antibiotics.

“The '4Dx' tests for exposure, not disease,” cautioned Dr. Hoffer. She explained that antibodies can remain in a dog’s blood for a long time; in the case of anaplasmosis, it can be years. A dog that tests positive for Lyme Disease and/or anaplasmosis - during a routine checkup, say - probably would not be put on antibiotics unless the pet showed symptoms consistent with a tick-borne disease. “We’re concerned with clinical illness,” emphasized Dr. Bird.

Even in the absence of symptoms, though, some veterinarians might treat a dog for 28 days with an antibiotic (doxycycline) if, for example, a SNAP 4Dx Test was positive for the very first time in a young dog's life.

An Ampule of Prevention - Frontline® and K9 Advantix®

The Lyme Disease vaccination protects dogs well against that illness but doesn’t protect them from anaplasmosis. As a result, every pet care professional we interviewed this week recommended the year-round use of the spot-on products Frontline and K9 Advantix.

Both products have been shown to be highly effective against ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete responsible for Lyme Disease and Anaplasma phagoctyophilum, the organism causing anaplasmosis.

K9 Advantix includes permethrin, an insecticide that is highly toxic to cats. Dr. Hoffer warned that if yours is a dog-and-cat household, you should not allow your cat to come in contact with your dog until K9 Advantix is fully dry.

Multi-Modal Tick Attack

You can help protect your pet from tick bites and potentially life-threatening disease by following what Dr. Hoffer calls a "multi-modal attack":

• Check for Ticks - Just as you check yourself for ticks after walking in the woods or working in the yard, check your dog, too. Ticks will bite anywhere, such as the groin, but they tend to gravitate toward the face, ears, and head. Be aware that, while your cat might not get Lyme Disease, any ticks it carries into the house could infect you or your dog.
• Test Yearly - A yearly SNAP 4Dx Test is a good investment in your pet's health. Not only does it test for the presence of tick diseases, it can uncover evidence of heartworm disease, as well.
•  Vaccinate - Lyme Disease vaccines are highly effective. Even if your dog happens to get Lyme Disease after being vaccinated, the infection will probably be less severe.
• Use Topicals - Deer ticks are active 12 months of the year in Rhode Island. A spot-on product such as Frontline or K9 Advantix can repel or kill ticks before they have a chance to bite your pet.

For further background on ticks and tick diseases - and to learn how to protect the two-legged members of your family - read , an article based upon Dr. Thomas N. Mather’s recent presentation to URI Master Gardeners. You might also noodle around the URI TickEncounter Resource Center web site to learn how to prevent, recognize, and safely remove ticks.

Although there is no current Lyme Disease vaccine for people, Dr. Mather’s group at URI is working on a Tick Bite Patch™ that is said to increase people’s sensitivity to tick saliva. When a tick bites you, an itching sensation alerts you to the tick’s presence so that you can promptly remove the tick before it has a chance to infect you with Lyme Disease or another tick-borne illness.

Download the movie