‘Tick’ing Time Bomb
Watch Your Back, And Fido’s Too
Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi), Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Powassan Virus, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, tick paralysis, and Tularemia. Yikes, what are all these? They are all tick-borne diseases that can affect animals and potentially people.
We used to be very lucky in Colorado and Denver that ticks were not a big concern. With the ever-westward migration of ticks, greater movement of people and pets, and changes in weather patterns, we have seen a significant increase in the number of ticks found on pets locally. So far our levels of tick-borne diseases have not yet significantly changed. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been monitoring the migration of the ticks that carry Lyme disease as they entered the state several years ago. In other words, they are here, so there may be increasing concerns about tick-borne diseases in our future.
First a few things to protect humans and pets against tick-borne diseases:
1. Avoid direct contact. Ticks like shrubs and tall grasses so when hiking, stay on the trails, avoid brushy areas, tall weeds and tall grasses.
2. Use repellant products that contain DEET or permethrin.
3. Wear protective clothing.
4. Apply topical or give oral flea-tick preventative to your dog. The best of these products can be prescribed by your veterinarian.
5. Check and inspect. Look over yourself and your pets.
Tick-borne disease symptoms can be hard to identify, as they are commonly subtle or mistaken for other diseases. Most common are flu-like symptoms such as aching joints, fever, headache and fatigue. Lyme disease can show a transient ring-like rash at the tick’s feeding site. Tick paralysis is uncommon but comes from a tick being attached for a long period of time.
Tularemia is less common as a disease in people, but is widespread in wild animals, especially rabbits. Most human cases are seen in hunters when they come in contact with blood from an infected animal and clinical signs include sudden high fever, general weakness and painful, swollen lymph nodes.
Here’s a quick summary of ticks and diseases that are present in Colorado:
1. Colorado tick fever. This virus is carried by the Rocky Mountain Wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni) and the American Dog tick (Dermacentor variablis). Both tick species can be found on small rodents, porcupines, raccoons, deer, horses, cattle, dogs and other larger animals. D. andersoni is the most common tick found in Colorado.
2. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. This disease is caused by bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii that is carried in the Rocky Mountain Wood tick, the American Dog tick and the Brown Dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus).
3. Tick paralysis is very uncommon, but has been seen in both dogs and humans with long attachment of the Rocky Mountain Wood tick. This causes an ascending paralysis that resolves when the tick is removed.
4. Tularemia. The bacterium Francisella tularensis is carried by both the Rocky Mountain Wood tick and American Dog tick.
5. Lyme disease and some other associated diseases are transmitted by the black legged or deer tick (Ixodes scapularis or I. pacificus). These carry Borrelia burgdorferi and related Borrelia species of bacteria.
6. Ehrlichiosis is an emerging disease caused by rickettsial bacteria. It is different from the Rickettsia ricketssii. Ehrlichia canis is carried by the Brown Dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus). These ticks are the only species that can spend their entire life cycle indoors and live predominately in and around human settlements.
7. Babesia species are another form of tick-borne disease and can be carried by the deer tick Ixodes scapularis. Babesia are a microscopic parasite that can infect mammalian red blood cells.
8. Anaplasmosis is another tick-vectored bacteria (Anaplasma phagocytophilum) that is spread by the deer tick species (I. scapularis and I. pacificus)
9. Powassan Virus is a potential re-emerging tick-borne disease also carried by the deer tick Ixodes scapularis It is associated with neurologic clinical signs from a meningoencephalitis.
Now that your skin is feeling a bit crawly … you know what you need to know about ticks so enjoy a safe summer.
Dr. Margot Vahrenwald is the owner of Park Hill Veterinary Medical Center at 2255 Oneida St. For more information, visit www.parkhillvet.com