We need only three drops, Lola!
We at Eberle Animal Hospital think that spring has, at last, arrived. At least spring break has arrived. That means ticks and mosquitos can’t be far behind, so it is important to have your pets heartworm tested and get started on your preventative flea and tick products. We naturally assume that you have been giving heartworm preventative year round.
I would like to visit with you about our heartworm test. We use the Idexx 4DX test which test for Heartworm, Lymes, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma. Most of you are familiar with heartworm disease which is transmitted by the mosquito. We actually have already had our first positive test this week. Most of you are also familiar with Lymes disease, which is caused by a spirochete bacteria called Borrelia and transmitted through the bite of a tick. In the dog, Lymes disease may involve the heart, nervous system, and the kidneys, but the most common symptom we see is painful joints, often swollen, so lameness is the presenting complaint. We treat this disease with antibiotics, but it can be difficult to clear. It is important to note that monthly use of flea and tick products is not a preventative. Of course you should use them, but many ticks bite your pet prior to death from the preventatives. At Eberle Animal Hospital, we recommend the Lymes vaccine for all of our dogs.
The third thing on our test is Ehrlichia. Very few of you have heard of this disease. It is also transmitted by ticks and attacks the dog’s immune system. This disease also may affect humans, horses, cats, and other animals. Blood tests usually indicate one or all of the blood cells decreased in number. Some possible clinical signs include anemia, fever, depression, lethargy, joint pain, stiffness, or loss of appetite. We also treat this disease with antibiotics.
The fourth and final thing we test for is Anaplasmosis, which is also transmitted by ticks. The disease is very similar to Ehrlichia in clinical signs, so high fever, lethargy, stiff and painful joints, loss of appetite, and depression would be expected. We also use antibiotics to treat this disease.
So, with the same three drops of blood from your pet, we test for these four serious diseases. It is important to know that people can get all of these diseases. Heartworm may go from the dog through a mosquito to humans. We are not the natural host, so the infection is usually limited. The other three, Lymes, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma cannot go directly from the dog to humans. We too, have to get it from ticks, so tick control is very important.
In my hospital we get both Heartworm and Lymes positive dogs every year. Last year, we also had an Ehrlichia positive dog. So far, we have not had a dog positive for Anaplasma, but it was just recently added to the test, so our sampling is small.
So, please have your pets tested, include Lymes vaccine in your protocol, and keep your pets on a good flea and tick preventative as well as Heartworm preventative year round.
This year as usual we are using Heartgard for Heartworm prevention and Promeris for flea and tick prevention. BUY 6 PROMERIS AND RECEIVE A 7TH DOSE FREE. BUY 12 HEARTGARD AND RECEIVE A BAG OF LEAN TREATS FREE.
To make an appointment for your pet today, give use a call at: (515) 727-5757, or email us at: dreberle@eberlenanimalhospital.com.
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