Tick borne disease

Creature feature By RHONDA OWEN SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Now that the warm weather is here, I know I'll run into ticks when I take my dog for walks in the woods around my house. I've heard that Lyme disease isn't a problem in Arkansas. Is that right? And can you tell me a surefire way to keep ticks off my dog? Although it's true that incidences of Lyme disease are no longer isolated in the northeastern states, it doesn't seem to have become a problem in Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. In 2013, there were zero cases reported to the department. Veterinarian Christina White of the Animal Health Center in Mountain Home says she has never seen an animal infected with Lyme disease in her veterinary practice. She notes that Arkansas dogs are more likely to be infected with Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis, which are carried by the lone star tick and American dog tick varieties. You can find photos of ticks most prevalent in Arkansas on the health department's website at tinyurl.com/l8vmxsk. Along with the lone star and American dog ticks are the blacklegged tick and brown dog tick. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta notes in its 2014 report on tick-borne disease that Arkansas is one of the five states (along with Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri and North Carolina) that account for 60 percent of reported cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the United States. Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri also account for more than 30 percent of ehrlichiosis infections. The figures represent only human cases, but where there are human cases of tick-borne disease, you'll also find canine cases. However, dogs and people can't infect each other with the disease; it's transmitted solely by tick bites. White says she actually sees few dogs with either disease, but notes that 90 percent of dogs infected with a tick-borne illness never show symptoms.That means that the disease doesn't make them sick. The most deadly disease carried by ticks in Arkansas affects only cats, White says. Called bobcat fever, the disease attacks quickly and is always fatal if not treated immediately; when treated, the survival rate is about 60 percent. There's nothing that's 100 percent effective in keeping ticks from getting on an animal, White says, but there are products that kill ticks when they bite. Among those are Frontline, Advantix and Nex-Gard. Of those, only Frontline has a version that's created specifically for cats. When buying any kind of insect preventive, read the label carefully and make sure that you get a product that's specific to your type of pet. Using a product for dogs on a cat could be fatal. Simply because your pet is bitten by a tick doesn't mean he'll be infected with a disease, but the odds are lowered significantly when you remove the tick as soon as possible after it attaches itself - ideally within 48 hours. White suggests using tweezers to pull the tick off of an animal. Make sure that you get the entire tick, including the head. Removing a dead tick is easier than removing a live one, she says. The May issue of Dog Fancy magazine offers a few tips for protecting your pet from ticks: As mentioned above, use tick prevention products. Perform regular tick searches on your animal, particularly between the toes, in the ears, on the belly and in the folds between the legs and torso. Remove any ticks you find. The longer they're on the animal, the greater the risk of infection. Using tweezers, grasp the tick's body and pull with steady, even pressure. After removal, clean the area with rubbing alcohol. Use insect repellents around your home to keep ticks out of your yard. Because mice and rats are typical hosts for ticks, take measures to keep them out of your house and yard. Do you have a question about pets? We'll get you an answer from an authority. Send your question to Rhonda Owen, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203 or e-mail askcreature@att.net Family, Pages 36 on 04/30/2014 Print Headline: Creature feature