Ticks are prevalent in our environment and can potentially
cause disease in our pets. In this article I am hoping to overview the various
diseases they can transmit in this part of the world. What is common of all the
tick borne diseases is that they are often insidious diseases with vague
clinical symptoms that are often difficult to recognise. A dog might be
slightly off colour and the owner often attributes it to just a bit of malaise
that does not need addressing. In many cases when the pet is presented for
treatment the disease is so advanced that it is untreatable.
Ehrlichiosis and
Anaplamosis ( Tick Fever)
These are diseases spread by the Brown dog tick,
Rhipicephalus sanguinous. What is unique to this species of tick is that it can
complete its whole life cycle indoors, so if left unchecked it can become a
pest in homes and kennels.
Symptoms of these diseases are multiple and varied, enlarged
lymph nodes, lethargy, anaemia, tremors, neurological signs, limb oedema,
collapse etc.
Treatment of these illnesses is protracted and rarely is the
dog totally cured of this parasite, an obligate intracellular bacterium, the
patient will go into remission with treatment but regular testing must be undertaken
throughout the dog’s life to measure the load level of this parasite in the
blood. Regular treatments throughout the life of the dog will usually be
necessary, so if your pet has been treated for this illness do not assume it is
parasite free, regular testing will be required!!
Borreliosis (Lyme disease)
This is a disease caused by a bacteria that is spread by the
tick Ixodes. There are various species of Ixodes that live in rodent and
wildlife (e.g. deer) reservoirs in which they cause no apparent problems.
The main presenting sign for Lyme disease is joint pain and
swelling, often the dog is running a fever. Dogs often present as if walking on
eggshells, with general pain and malaise. However there are cases where the dog
presents with intermittent lameness that resolves spontaneously but then
recurs. So if your pet has episodic bouts of lameness and there is a history of
tick problems then ask your vet to carry out a test for this disease.
Treatment is also with a prolonged course of antibiotics but
often the disease goes into remission and retesting throughout the dog’s life
is necessary.
Babesiosis
This is a protozoal disease spread by various types of ticks
that infects red blood cells, can cause an acute anaemia in immune-compromised
animals, but more generally the animal presents with jaundice, weakness and
general malaise. Infection with babesia is often in tandem with ehrlichia and
in these cases the clinical signs can be severe. Thankfully this disease is not
seen frequently in our part of the world.
There are a couple of treatment options for this illness and
in endemic areas a vaccination is available. However early diagnosis is
critical, if your pet has had ticks and is looking pale and is lethargic get it
to a vet ‘pronto’.
Bartonellosis in cats
This is a bacteria that is found in rodent wildlife
reservoirs, it causes no illness in these animals. It can be passed to cats by
fleas and ticks and usually does not cause clinical disease in them unless they
are immune-suppressed. Symptoms can be varied, fever ,anaemia and internal
organ failure.
These bacteria can also cause infections in humans,
colloquially known as cat scratch disease, and again can cause serious illness
in immune- suppressed individuals.
In summary ticks can cause quite serious, potentially life
threatening illness in your pet. If you walk your dog in the country or he goes
to kennels regularly always make sure he has protection against the tick.
Prevention is much better than cure; there are a couple of excellent products
on the market. If you find a tick on your pet, there are tick removers but be
careful and follow instructions, if you pull it out you could leave the
mouthparts buried inside your pet that will cause an inflammatory reaction.
Alternatively use tick spray, it will die and fall off naturally( Do not burn
them with a cigarette you will leave the mouthparts inside).
If your pet has had ticks in the past and is ‘off colour’,
without any apparently serious disease make sure you get it blood tested, you
could end up saving your best friend’s life!!!!
