Ticks may cause a host of illnesses, including Lyme disease, which affect dogs as well as humans. Lyme disease is named after the town of Old-Lyme in the United States where a number of cases were identified in 1975. Although researchers soon realized that ticks were linked to the transmission of the disease, the actual cause of Lyme disease remained a mystery until 1981, when the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi was identified.
A bite from a B. burgdorferi infected tick can mean tiredness, fever, joint pain, and loss of appetite. In fact, the symptoms in dogs and humans are much alike. Antibiotics generally provide relief from the disease, but reversion can occur. Tick control products that kill or repel ticks form an important tool to prevent Lyme disease.
What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi spread through the bite of the blacklegged- or deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). If an infected tick is not feeding, the bacterium that causes the disease lies dormant inside the tick's gut. It becomes active only after exposure to the warm blood meal entering the tick's digestive system while feeding. Once active, the organism enters the tick's salivary glands. And, as the tick feeds, it must get rid of surplus liquid through the salivary glands. As a result the tick will salivate the bacterium into the wound it has just created, thereby passing the infection to its victim.
Only ticks that are attached to the host and have finished feeding or are near the end of their meal can transmit Lyme disease. At least 36 to 48 hours of feeding is required for a tick to have fed and then transmit the bacterium that causes the disease. After this time the tick will be engorged with blood.
A tick that was not attached, was easy to remove or just walking on the skin, and was still flat and tiny and not full of blood when it was removed could not have transmitted Lyme disease or any other infection since it has not yet taken a blood meal. Of course that does not mean that such a tick was not infected and may be a potential source of infection.
The symptoms of Lyme disease in dogs
Clinical signs of Lyme disease may not appear for several months after a dog is infected with the disease. In fact, many dogs fail to display any obvious clinical signs at all.
When signs of infection are noted, they may include the following:
• Lethargy (manifested as tiredness or exercise intolerance)
• Fever
• Painful joints
• Loss of appetite
Signs may seem to resolve on their own only to reappear later. Lyme disease has also been linked to long-term complications involving the joints, kidneys, heart, and nervous system.
The symptoms of Lyme disease in humans
Contrary to dogs, the symptoms of early stage Lyme disease in humans develop already 3 to 30 days after someone is bitten by an infected tick.
The most common symptom of early stage disease is a "bull's eye" rash, a flat or slightly raised red spot at the site of the tick bite known as erythema migrans. It can be quite large and expanding in size. The affected area of skin will be red and feel slightly raised to the touch.
In up to a third of people with Lyme disease, the rash may be the only symptom.
Other symptoms of early stage Lyme disease are flu-like and can include:
• Tiredness (fatigue)
• Muscle pain
• Joint pain
• Headache
• Fever or chills
• Neck stiffness
Increasing Risk Factors
Ticks that can transmit Lyme disease (Ixodes scapularis) also known as the blacklegged or deer tick are found in wooded areas, high grasses, marshes, gardens, and beach areas.
Because people are becoming more and more involved in outdoor recreational and sporting activities they are more frequently led into tick habitats. Also dogs that spend plenty of time outdoors, especially in the woods, bush, or areas of tall grass are running an increased risk to become infected with Lyme disease. In addition, infected ticks can be carried into backyards on other wildlife such as squirrels, hedgehogs and birds and via this route dogs and people may become infected in their own yard. Even more so, because an increasing number of residential construction projects are invading into rural surroundings and more and more green areas such as town parks and public gardens are developed inside cities.
Climate change has resulted in milder winters so that ticks have more opportunity to feed and breed. Another result of climate change has been an extended growing season for vegetation which in turn has increased the number of some of the tick's host species, which means more available hosts for the ticks. Indeed, recently published scientific research has predicted tick expansion to new, previously tick-free areas because of expected climate change.
Preventing Lyme disease by tick control
People can reduce their risk of Lyme disease by avoiding tick-infested habitats. If exposure to tick-infested surroundings cannot be avoided, individuals may reduce their risk of infection by using repellents, wearing protective clothing, and regularly checking for and removing attached ticks. If you're travelling with a group it's useful to help your friends or family members by checking for ticks in places they can't see, such as the back of the head and behind their ears.
It's also important to protect your dog against tick bites because it is the first line of defense for keeping your pets safe. There are many different products on the market today that protect your pets from tick-transmitted diseases. The most popular tick bite prevention products are topical sprays and spot-ons. However, usually these products do not work longer than a few weeks to one month and require regular re-application, some more frequent than others. In addition, the active chemicals in sprays and spot-on have to be applied to the dogs' skin which many people find undesirable especially because it has to be repeated over and over again.
A suitable alternative therefore is to protect your dog with a Dog Armor Knockdown coat whenever you are taking him out for a walk. The permethrin impregnated Knockdown coat will kill any tick on contact and will prevent your pet from bringing home ticks that may pose a risk to you or your family members. Back home you just remove the coat.
Understandably dogs encounter many more ticks than people do. And even when using a Dog Armor Knockdown coat a few ticks may have managed to latch on to his fur because the coat does not cover hundred percent of your dogs' skin. Fortunately, because many dogs have thick fur, ticks may take a while to reach the dogs skin before biting. Therefore it is wise to groom your dog after a walk outside through the woods or trails to help protect your pet and family.
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