Ticks' increasing threatApril 25, 2018Masters of ride-sharing well before Uber and Lyft came along, ticks hitch rides with white-tailed deer, migrating birds, and other animals, making their way to locales where they didn’t exist in the past. Now, one or more tick species are found in every state, including Alaska and Hawaii.
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CAPC forecasts problematic heartworm, Lyme in 2018April 19, 2018 The Companion Animal Parasite Council, or CAPC, has released its annual 2018 parasite forecasts, and the news isn't good. The agency reported there will be an increase in prevalence of heartworm and Lyme disease, and heartworm is predicted to continue its aggressive spread across the U.S., with the growth of Lyme disease focused east of the Rockies. The spread of heartworm is attributed to the hot and wet weather over a two-year span, shifting weather patterns that allow for ideal mosquito breeding conditions, and the relocation of unknown heartworm-positive dogs across the country, according to CAPC. CAPC also predicts the spread of Lyme disease into nonendemic areas, including the Dakotas, Iowa, Missouri, southern Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina. "Our annual forecasts provide critical and important information to help veterinarians and pet owners understand parasites are a true risk to both pets and people," said Dwight Bowman, MS, Ph.D., CAPC board member and professor of parasitology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. "This year, there are significant shifts in prevalence, making our maps a critical educational tool for veterinary hospitals, and allowing veterinarians and pet owners to see that parasites are ever changing …
Why annual screening for exposure to infected ticks is vitalApril 18, 2018It's important to remember that a single tick can transmit multiple infectious agents that may cause or contribute to serious illness, including kidney disease. And because dogs don't always show clinical signs, it can be challenging to understand the true harm of any given infection to a pet's health. This makes regularly screening pets—including asymptomatic or seemingly healthy ones—to identify exposure to infected ticks all the more important. Here's a quick look at why regular, comprehensive screening is critical, and what veterinarians can do to help keep dogs healthy. All dogs need to be screened annually for exposure to infected ticks It's quite possible a patient could be fighting an infection without showing any signs of disease. That is why limiting screening to symptomatic pets and those known to have had a tick on them is too restrictive—it will miss infections. All dogs need to be tested, and pet owners need to be reminded that negative results are the goal in order to verify that preventive measures against ticks are working. A new study reinforces the importance of detecting exposure The study, found at idexx.com/tickrisk, showed two key findings: 1) dogs with Ehrlichia antibodies …
Allergic, parasitic, and viral skin disease treatment toolkitApril 16, 2018Most veterinarians understand the basics of preventing and controlling feline and canine skin issues, but today’s pet health professionals should strive to be aware of the multitude of recent group of product and treatment options for managing skin issues when they arise.
Send a clear parasite prevention messageMarch 12, 2018Clients simply aren’t getting the message when it comes to preventing fleas, ticks, and in particular heartworm. With current weather patterns contributing to the parasite problem, pets are more in need of prevention than ever before.
East Asian tick species turns up on New Jersey sheepMarch 6, 2018A tick native to East Asia—also known as the longhorned, bush, or cattle tick—turned up on a New Jersey sheep with no travel history or nearby domesticated animals, according to a report from National Public Radio. Haemaphysalis longicornis multiplies quickly, feeds on mammalian blood, including humans. In South Korea, it has been linked to the spread of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus, described in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report as "a newly emerging infectious disease," NPR reported. H. longicornis can transmit theileriosis to cattle, which can cause blood loss and occasional death of calves; Lyme bacteria, spotted fever group rickettsioses, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and Anaplasma bovis have been detected in H. longicornis. SFTS features symptoms of fever, thrombocytopenia, leukocytopenia, and elevated serum enzyme levels, according to the CDC. In August, the sheep's owner noticed that her clothing was covered in ticks—and not the area's native deer ticks. Investigators found hundreds on the sheep and collected nearly 1,000 more from the 1-acre paddock, according to NPR. The tick has previously been found in the U.S. on large animals in quarantine, but this is the first …
Alaska state veterinarian warns of emerging diseaseFebruary 28, 2018Diseases that afflict livestock and wildlife are increasingly emerging in Alaska, said Bob Gerlach, DVM, state veterinarian, as he spoke at the 46th Annual Delta Farm Forum. Other diseases are increasing in northern-tier states and Canada due to climate change, increase in human population, and worldwide movement of agricultural products. Alaska's cool climate and isolation has for millennia helped protect wildlife and the people who subsist on it from many of the diseases that thrive in warmer, lower latitudes, according to Dr. Gerlach. But that's changing, as Alaska is no longer isolated from what's happening globally, he said. "We're in the center of a lot of what's going on," he added. Globalization, including commerce that brings livestock and other agricultural products, new residents and travelers who bring their pets, and wildlife species slowly moving northward due to warming temps, all are to blame, he said. "[It's] not just moving food," he said. "It's moving animals, it's moving products, and it's moving disease." Farmers must be on alert for signs of disease in their livestock and in the wildlife that live or range near their farms and ranches, Gerlach said. "We're seeing some things that we've never seen in the …
Abaxis gains USDA approval of VetScan FLEX4 Rapid TestJanuary 23, 2018Abaxis Inc., a diagnostics company manufacturing point-of-care instruments and consumables for the medical and veterinary markets worldwide, announced that the USDA, Center for Veterinary Biologics, approved its new VetScan FLEX4 Rapid Test for veterinary use. The FLEX4 is a 4-in-1 lateral flow test used for detecting heartworm antigen as well as antibodies for Lyme, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma in canine whole blood, serum, or plasma samples. The VetScan FLEX4 Rapid Test offers improved shelf life, ease of use, room temperature storage, and price, as well as a 4-in-1 alternative for vector-borne disease testing on a single cassette, according to the company. Results are available within 8 to 10 minutes. The company plans to ship the FLEX4 to its distributors later this quarter; it should be available to U.S. veterinarians shortly thereafter. Abaxis said it will continue to sell the single test platform currently available for heartworm disease, Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis.
Drug-resistant heartworm strain found in Louisiana LabradorDecember 12, 2017A drug-resistant strain of heartworm was discovered in a dog in Metairie, La., according to local veterinarian, Cynthia Benbow, DVM, CVA. Maddie, a yellow lab from Metairie, was a patient of Dr. Benbow. According to the news release issued by Benbow's office, Maddie contracted heartworm while on a monthly preventive. The heartworms had resurfaced in Benbow's long-time patient after a bout three years prior even though Maddie's owner had, as Benbow described, "religiously" stuck with the prescribed prevention regimen. Testing revealed the dog was infected with a drug-resistant strain of heartworm. A sample of Maddie's blood was sent to Ray Kaplan, DVM, at the Department of Infectious Diseases at University of Georgia (UGA) College of Veterinary Medicine, according to Benbow. Dr. Kaplan's lab confirmed that the heartworms were indeed drug-resistant, and established the strain for research purposes, naming it Metairie-2014. Louisiana hosts "by far the most cases" of suspected drug-resistant heartworm strains, according to Cassan Pulaski, a doctoral candidate at Louisiana State University (LSU). Southern states show higher incidences of likely drug-resistant strains, particularly those surrounding the Mississippi River Delta, he said. It's unknown how many drug-resistant heartworm strains exist because local veterinarians do not have the research tools to verify resistant strains, according to …
Diagnosing, treating Lyme diseaseDecember 5, 2017Lyme disease is a frustrating problem confronting veterinarians and horse owners in areas where ticks are prevalent. The disease, caused by a spirochete bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted through the bite of infected deer, or blacklegged ticks. As ticks are virtually ubiquitous, the carrier of the disease is essentially impossible to eradicate.
