Let’s continue with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tick borne diseases today.
Diagnosis:
If your veterinarian suspects your dog of an infection with a tick borne disease, he/she may perform general bloodwork. An evaluation of synovial fluid with a joint tap may also be suggested. A complete blood count may see anaemia, thrombocytopenia or changes in white blood cell counts. A rapid point-of-care assay 4Dx may be performed to evaluate antibodies against Anaplasma, Erhlichia and Borrelia species, though they do not reflect active infections as your dog might have been infected before and mounted immune responses against the parasites. The identification of these parasites (and possibly active infections) in your dog, however, will require your veterinarian to send out blood samples for PCR assays.
Treatment:
To treat tick borne diseases, a course of antibiotic is usually required. Patients with severe anaemia require blood transfusion and hospitalisation. Acute Babesia infection may result in disseminated intravascular coagulation with possible death. Patients infected with Babesiosis can develop into carriers or subclinical infections which may reactivate and cause infections later in life.
Prevention:
1. You should always keep your dog up-to-date with effective tick prophylaxes. Multiple preventive measures may be necessary if your dog has an active outdoor life or live in rural areas with an increased tick exposure.
2. You should comb through your pet’s fur with your fingers and check them for ticks regularly, especially after spending time outdoors. As ticks tend to hide in shady areas, spend extra time searching in and around the ears, under the front legs, between the back legs, between the toes, and under the tail.
*Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis and Lyme diseases can infect both dogs and humans and therefore are potentially zoonotic. However, this can only be done with direct tick transmission or infected blood handling.
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