Things you need to know about ticks!
The bottom line of tick borne diseases is that they are dangerous, can be deadly and equally affect both people and dogs.  The most critical part of tick borne diseases is to avoid them by preventing ticks on your pets and on yourself.  Keep in mind, one of the local tick species in our region is perfectly happy in your home!  The brown dog tick hates cold weather and will seek out warmth in the fall. If one can get on your dog then settle down in your house, she can lay 20,000 eggs per blood meal from your dog.  Depending on the diseases she is carrying, some of the baby ticks from her will also carry the disease and can immediately infect you or your pets.

Here is a list of the ticks found in our area and the diseases that they can carry to both humans and pets:

Brown Dog Tick:

It can transmit canine ehrlichiosis, canine babesiosis, human ehrlichiosis.
It likes cracks and crevasses when it isn’t on a host and does well in any part of your house.  It is the only species of ticks that actually thrives in human dwellings and can complete its entire lifecycle inside the home.  It prefers dogs but will feed on any mammal (including humans).

American Dog Tick

It is the major vector for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever for both dogs and man.  The baby ticks (called nymphs) can be active and looking for a host as early as February. While the nymphs prefer smaller things like rodents, the adults will go to any large mammal, including man.

Deer Tick (also called the Black Legged Tick)

It can transmit Lyme to any mammal, ehrlichia to humans and babesia to humans. 
It can even transmit disease in the nymph stage and this tick is TINY!

This tick prefers woods and grasslands and is most active in August and September.  Nymphs can appear as early as January in this area.  The nymphs feed mostly on rodents, birds and lizards.  Adults prefer larger mammals like cattle, dogs, horses… and humans.

Lone Star Tick

It can transmit 2 different types of human ehrlichia, a disease related to Lyme (that only affects humans) and also vectors Tularemia

It prefers dense underbrush and grassy meadows.  There can be thousands of larvae on a single plant leaf.  Both nymphs and adults are happy on anything except a reptile, but the adults prefer large mammals and man.

Let me brief you on some of these diseases mentioned here:

Lyme:

  • The most common reported tick disease in humans
  • It has been seen in every state in the lower 48
  • It can be transmitted via tick bite, by crushing an infected tick between your fingers, via mosquito bite, or by coming into contact with the urine of an infected animal.
  • Symptoms start weeks to months after initial contact with a tick
  • Because signs are frequently vague and nonspecific, this disease is regularly misdiagnosed.
  • It starts with a rash (in humans) and can progress to serious disease symptoms like fatigue, headaches, joint problems and even blindless.
  • In dogs, it is most commonly seen as lameness but can also cause kidney failure and heart problems (which tend to be fatal)
  • Treatment failure is common because it is often diagnosed late in the disease
  • Even if you catch and survive Lyme disease, you can get it again because there is no long lasting immunity granted in either people or dogs.

Ehrlichia:

  • This disease is mostly transmitted by the brown dog tick.
  • It has 3 phases:

ACUTE: 

  • Starts 1-3 weeks post infection and lasts 2-4 weeks
  • Most dogs and humans survive
  • Symptoms closely mimic Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
  • Ticks may or not be present or observed
  • Prognosis for successful treatment is good

SUBCLINICAL:

  • Can last months to years
  • Some dogs clear infection on their own.  Most progress to the chronic phase
  • A complete blood count can give warning of the presence of disease because platelets are generally low
  • Most dogs are not clinically sick and ticks are generally absent

CHRONIC:

  • Chronic wasting disease starts
  • Animals and people will be arthritis
  • Can affect bone marrow, CNS, liver, spleen, kidneys, eyes
  • Prognosis for recovery is guarded.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever:

  • The tick has often fed and left dog before clinical signs develop
  • The owner (or the affected human) noften doesn’t even know dog was infested with ticks – in one study, only 5/30 owners knew
  • majority of dogs are subclinical (they show no immediate signs of diseas) – some develop fever within 14 days.
  • Transovarial transmission (the baby ticks are born capable of transmitting the disease

Clinicial signs:
  • fever and depression
  • low platelet counts and bleeding disorders
  • Occasionally pulmonary disease is seen
  • The central nervous system (brain and spine) can also be affected
  • Permanent immunity may be possible since RMSF has not been reported twice in the same dog

Babesia:

  • This disease can affect numerous mammals including cattle, dogs, and man
  • It causes jaundice, fever and meningitis
  • It destroys red blood cells
  • While it can make normal humans and dogs sick, patients who have had their spleen removed or whom are immunocompromised (AIDS or chemotherapy patients) almost always die from this disease, regardless of therapy.
  • Treatment is always expensive and often unsuccessful


Tularemia:

  • This disease is often called “Rabbit Fever” is commonly seen in hunters who are careless while skinning rabbits.
  • It can be transmitted directly via ticks, or indirectly from contact with contaminated mud or water, or decaying carcasses.   It can live 3-4 months in the environment
  • It is found worldwide
  • As few as 10 bacilli can cause disease in humans and has been reported in all states except Hawaii.
  • It is treatable if caught early.

The bottom line with all these diseases is to PREVENT them because they are hard to treat and can cause permanent damage to you or your pet.  There are several things that can do that – Frontline or Advantix are good products as are Preventix Tick Collars work great in dogs.  Frontline or Revolution work well in cats.  Any product containing DEET works well in humans (but can be dangerous in pets so only use those products on yourself, not your pets). 
The other important factors are routine surveillance for these diseases.  The easiest and most cost effective surveillance is a complete blood count, including a platelet count once or twice a year.  This inexpensive test can give many clues to your pet’s health and if the platelets are low, you may want to consider running some lab tests to specifically evaluate your pet for these diseases.  I think any dog who presents to a veterinarian for lameness should be screened for these diseases.  Keep in mind, being an indoor dog is no protection from these diseases.  We had an indoor exclusive Yorkshire Terrier come down with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever!

As usual, if you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us!