Topic: News article: Veterinarians use new tests to check dogs for Lyme disease
Vermont_Lymie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9780
posted
Just one of the things I find amazing about this article (there are some good and bad points, and some errors -- how many can you find?)
"Riverside is part of a national prevalence study which compiles and reports statistics for Lyme disease in dogs for research on incidence levels and locations."
How about in humans?? And lyme is not even a reportable disease in the state of Connecticut, which has the highest incidence rate in the nation!! Bizarre.
Why do vets know more than most ID doctors? "Drahos said Lyme disease stays in an animal's system for lifetime and theoretically has to be treated for a lifetime..."
November 26, 2007
MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) Bonnie, a furry 11-year-old mixed breed dog, didn't so much as whimper or flinch when a trip to the veterinarian led to a blood test.
Bonnie's owner, Betty Wamback, took her to Riverside Animal Hospital for teeth cleaning, and the vet checked her blood because in April Bonnie tested positive for Lyme disease.
Bonnie was prescribed antibiotics and as far as her doctor, Dan Drahos, was concerned, the fact that traces of disease didn't show up on the test meant that the treatment worked.
Over the past few years, some local veterinarians have incorporated testing for exposure to Lyme disease along with their routine blood work procedures in hopes of catching and diagnosing the disease earlier in dogs.
``It is important to spread awareness. Even though there might not necessarily be more cases of Lyme disease as compared to before testing was done, we want to detect exposure.
Entomology studies show that the tick population has increased as the deer population increases. With more deer in the city limits, come deer ticks those are the ticks that spread the disease,'' said Drahos, co-owner of Riverside Animal Hospital, Muscatine.
The illness is caused by the bacteria carried by the deer tick; also known as the black-legged tick.
Hunting dogs and dogs that live outdoors are most likely to get ticks, which means they are most likely to come down with the disease.
Dogs cannot spread Lyme disease to one another, or to humans. A person or animal must be bitten by the deer tick and research shows that the tick must be attached for at least a day or two to infect its host.
Drahos said it's important to diagnose the sometimes hard-to-identify illness because ``oftentimes, pet owners think their dog is simply not feeling well.''
There is also a Lyme disease that affects the kidneys, but it's rare in this area, Drahos said.
Lyme disease can take from two months to two years for symptoms to show.
This year, Riverside has tested 33 dogs positive for exposure. Out of those positive tests, 15 dogs have had the clinical disease; two died but Drahos couldn't verify for certain that the death was caused by Lyme disease. This is a common number since testing has become part of regular blood parasite testing.
Another local veterinarian, Bob Hathaway of Hoof and Paw Clinic in Muscatine, has also seen more exposures these days as he too routinely runs the tests for Lyme disease.
``If it shows positive, it tells us the dog has been exposed to Lyme disease, not if the dog will come down with illness,'' Hathaway said.
If a dog is experiencing symptoms characteristic to Lyme disease, such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, stiff muscles and joints, not eating and not feeling well in general, a positive test might mean it's necessary for the animal to be put on antibiotics.
``The signs range from a very sick dog with flu-like symptoms to just achy and people can mistake it for arthritis,'' Drahos said.
Without treatment, Lyme disease can lead to heart, kidney and joint problems and in rare occasions it can lead to neurological disease and death.
Both veterinarians agree that it's no longer unusual to find Lyme disease exposure because of the new testing method. But before the procedure became common they'd only suspect Lyme disease, but rarely confirmed it.
If a test is positive for exposure, veterinarians can send another test to a lab to confirm active Lyme disease or simply go forth with antibiotic treatment.
``We see a lot of dogs test positive that aren't sick but we also see a lot that are sick and showing it,'' Hathaway added.
There is a vaccine but Hathaway said it's not 100 percent effective.
Drahos said effectiveness is 70 to 80 percent but he is a firm believer in having dogs vaccinated. Drahos has treated dogs in the same household, one vaccinated and one not, where the dog not vaccinated has tested positive and the other has tested negative.
Both veterinarians said the best way to avoid Lyme disease is to use tick control recommended by the animal's vet.
Drahos said he suggests topical veterinary-approved tick products because it prevents the tick from actually biting. He added that over-the-counter tick collars usually do not work because they don't protect the dog from being bitten.
Riverside is part of a national prevalence study which compiles and reports statistics for Lyme disease in dogs for research on incidence levels and locations.
Drahos said Lyme disease stays in an animal's system for lifetime and theoretically has to be treated for a lifetime, but ``in my experience ... it's very rare; maybe only one or two dogs have ever come down with it again (after treatment),'' Drahos said.
(� 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. In the interest of timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain occasional typographical errors. )
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
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merrygirl
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Member # 12041
posted
I don't know about this article...
In the clinic we used the 4dx Snap test by Idexx. the company says that the test distingushes exposure and infection.
posted
Has anyone ever had the vet check their blood with the test that is used for animals? It would be interesting to see if humans showed up positive with this test. Vets do know more about lyme disease than ID idiots. It is sad. At least the vetrinarians don't try to convince the dog or horse or whatever animal it is that it is all in their head.
Posts: 41 | From Warfordsburg,PA | Registered: May 2007
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merrygirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12041
posted
As a veterinary technician, I don't think I could test myself on a vet test as it is made to detect canine antibodies not human.
In my experience, a canine patient with a positive test is treated.
Melissa
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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