We’re in the middle of summer, and many of you probably enjoy taking advantage of the great outdoors at this time of year. And you’re not alone – ticks love this time of year too. They tend to emerge in the warmer weather, so between spring and fall is the peak time for occurrence of tick-transmitted diseases. So it’s important to be aware of the prevalence of tick-borne diseases in your area.

In the US and Europe, Lyme disease is the most common of these conditions, and represents an important public health concern. It was named after the town of Lyme in Connecticut, where a cluster of the first cases of the disease in this country were recognized in 1975. The disease itself is caused by the bite of a tick that is infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Most commonly in the US, the Ixodes species of deer tick is involved in transmitting the bacterium to people.

 

 

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

These ticks are especially prevalent in grassy and wooded areas, so it is important to take precautions when out and about:

 

Wear Appropriate Clothing

  • Light colors help you to recognize ticks more easily
  • Long sleeves protect the arms
  • Long pants protect the legs
  • Avoid wearing flip flops or open shoes
  • Tuck pants into socks or boots
  • Use Insect Repellent – apply to exposed areas of skin, and spray onto clothing too

 

Inspect for ticks

  • Check for attached ticks every few hours outside
  • Check again upon return home
  • Have a partner check difficult-to-see areas
  • Check pets too
  • Change clothes upon return home – shake out those you wore while outdoors

 

If You Find An Attached Tick

  • Remove immediately – use tweezers to grasp firmly near the head, and pull without squeezing
  • If mouthparts remain attached, remove using tweezers
  • Clean the area of skin affected, and apply antiseptic cream
  • If in doubt, save the tick in a small container (or between some pieces of sticky tape) in case it needs to be identified later

 

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms and signs of Lyme disease are variable because it can affect numerous body systems. Some of the more classic symptoms, however, include:

 

Early Symptoms

  • Skin rash: One of the hallmarks of the disease, affecting up to 80% of infected people, is erythema migrans. This is the classic rash that has a bull’s eye shape – a central dark red region and peripheral clear halo are surrounded by an outer red ring. It develops 3-30 days following a tick bite, and spreads with time. It should be differentiated from a rash that results after a tick bite due to an allergy to the tick’s saliva. This occurs within 72 hours of a bite, disappears with time, and is not indicative of Lyme disease.
  • Flu-like ailments: Fever, fatigue, aches, headache, and stiff neck are often reported early on in the course of disease.

 

Later Symptoms

If Lyme disease goes untreated, the bacterium can spread to other body systems. The joints and nervous system are a couple of the more common regions affected in such cases:

  • Joint pain: Untreated patients may sometimes develop joint pain, especially in the knees.
  • Neurological symptoms: Occasional patients can develop numbness or weakness of the limbs, facial paralysis, or even meningitis in severe cases.

 

It is important to remember, however, that not every tick is infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. Therefore not every tick bite leads to Lyme disease. If you do develop any concerning symptoms following a tick bite, however, seek medical advice as soon as possible – this will enable best treatment results in the event that you do have Lyme disease.

Don’t forget to check your dogs too – not only can they be bitten by ticks, but they too can develop Lyme disease. Ticks often go unrecognized on dogs due to their thick coats. So be sure to pay some extra attention to your dog after a walk, and groom him well to check for attached ticks.

And whilst the prospect of tick-borne disease shouldn’t keep you indoors all summer, it certainly pays to take preventive measures to guard against tick attachment, especially in regions where Lyme disease is prevalent.

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fleas are no longer a summertime problem – they can bother your pet all year round, thanks to our cosy, centrally-heated homes that allow flea eggs to incubate and hatch, even in the winter.

I’ve written some articles for the HappyTails Canine Spa, so if you want to control fleas, make it a two-sided attack on the animal as well as his environment.

 

 

There are many varieties of flea control products available for cats and dogs now – your veterinarian can advise you on which is best for your pet (especially if he has developed problems such as secondary pyoderma due to flea allergy dermatitis). But if you have a dog and love trying natural products, check out the online store while you’re over at HappyTails they have some wonderful products!

 

 

 

 

A third of us are infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that can be transmitted to us by animals. Cats represent a major source of this organism, and are therefore a common route of infection for us since they continually shed the parasite. Consequently we can become infected with Toxoplasma gondii if we come into contact with anything that is contaminated with the organism as a result of a cat’s shedding. Some ways include:

  • Contaminated soil  (when gardening in an area where cats have defecated)
  • Cleaning the cat litter box
  • Contaminated water
  • Undercooked meat (lamb, pork, and venison especially – these animals are infected by cats in the same way as we are)
  • Cooking utensils coming into contact with undercooked, infected meats

Although many people are infected with this parasite, most are unaffected by it, and show no clinical symptoms since the immune system effectively prevents it from causing disease; however, clinical toxoplasmosis can be a real problem for people with weakened immune systems, such as:

  • HIV infected patients
  • Chemotherapy patients
  • Organ-transplant recipients

Additionally, it poses a particular risk for unborn babies. A  woman who comes into contact with the organism for the first time during her pregnancy may transmit it to the fetus in utero, resulting in birth defects or even infant fatalities. Transmission of the parasite to an unborn baby, however, is less likely if the woman has previously come into contact with the organism at least six months or more, prior to becoming pregnant.

Links With Brain Cancer?

Interestingly, a recent study reports a correlation between rates of infection of Toxoplasma gondii, and the incidence of brain cancer. Global data on brain cancer in people from 37 countries was collected and compared with the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in those regions. The research group reported that brain cancer rates increased in countries where the parasite was more prevalent.

This ecological study, however, merely points to a correlation between the two events – it does not imply that the parasite actually causes brain cancer in people. And certainly the opposite could be true – it’s not impossible that brain cancer could be the driving factor behind Toxoplasma gondii infection.

So as it stands, this report does not prove cause and association, but is predominantly hypothesis-generating, and does provoke scientific curiosity. In the words of one of the authors:“These were the best data available and we felt they were sufficient to take the first step. Working with actual brain cancer patients is an obvious next step, but it would be an expensive proposition.  It is a lot easier to justify the second, expensive step when you have some evidence for the hypothesis. We are hoping that our results motivate others in the field to do further studies.”

Thomas, Lafferty, Brodeur, Elguero, Gauthier-Clerc & Misse. 2011. Incidence of adult brain cancers is higher in countries where the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is common. Biology Letters

 

Although most kittens learn to use a litter box courtesy of their mother, some may need a helping hand from a new owner – especially those who may have been abandoned or orphaned.

Here are some tips in an article that I wrote for The Pet Store Online.

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Exposure To Pets In The First Year Of Life May Reduce Risk Of Allergies

The relationship between exposure to pets and allergic disease risk has long been unresolved. Various studies in recent years have examined the effect of early exposure to cats and dogs on allergies in children. The results, however, have been conflicting, with some showing a benefit from having a pet, while others indicated that it may actually make children more prone to developing allergies.

The focus of the study was to evaluate the association between lifetime dog and cat exposure and allergic sensitization to the specific animal at 18 years of age. Researchers collected information from 566 children and their parents about the childrens’ exposure to indoor pets, and their history of allergies.

A study published online ahead of print in the journal “Clinical & Experimental Allergy”, however, suggests that having a pet in the house during the first year of a child’s life could halve the risk of them becoming allergic to animals [“Lifetime Dog and Cat Exposure and Dog- and Cat-Specific Sensitization at Age 18 Years.” Wegienka et al, 2011: 41(7)979-986.]

They followed the children from birth to 18 years old and found that exposure to a cat in the first year of life was associated with a halved risk of having an immune system that was sensitized to cat allergens. The findings for dogs were more complicated, however, and a link between exposure and reduced risk of sensitization later on was found in boys only.

The results of this study now suggest that researchers should further study the first year of life, since this may be the critical window during childhood when indoor exposure to pets may influence sensitization to them.

“This research provides further evidence that experiences in the first year of life are associated with health status later in life, and that early life pet exposure does not put most children at risk of being sensitized to these animals later in life,” said first author Ganesa Wegienka.

Since I’m a veterinary pathologist by training, I thought you might like me to share some aspects of this side of my work with you. 

Some of my daily routine involves microscopic evaluation of sections of tissue from animals, often for diagnostic purposes. So I’ll try and share some interesting cases with you from time to time.

I’ll start off today by sharing information about a case of herpesvirus infection in a cat.

 

History: A two week old kitten died following four days of respiratory distress, with pronounced sneezing and coughing.

Diagnosis: A diagnosis of pneumonia due to FHV-1 (feline herpesvirus-1) infection was made after microscopic evaluation of tissues taken at postmortem examination. 

FHV-1 IN CATS: This is a common feline virus that is transmitted between cats by direct contact and exchange of nasal and ocular fluids. “Feline rhinotracheitis” is the classic condition associated with this virus, and typically manifests as upper respiratory disease and conjunctivitis in kittens, similar to this case. Systemic illness with interstitial pneumonia has also been reported in kittens, and such cases of systemic disease can arise as a result of immunosuppression. Additionally, the virus can cause conjunctivitis as well as facial and nasal dermatitis or stomatitis in adult cats.

The usually clear air spaces in the lung are
filled with inflammatory cells & debris
Higher magnification view showing intense inflammation 
with necrotic tissue and debris, along with the characteristic 
diagnostic finding of viral inclusion bodies in cells. 
The arrow points to a syncitial cell containing multiple nuclei.
These nuclei contain characteristic viral inclusion bodies


Although this is a devastating disease, the good news is that cats can be vaccinated against the causative virus, thus reducing the incidence or severity of disease.

Cats can be carriers of FHV-1 though – in such cases, if a female cat carrying the virus is infected before she is vaccinated, the vaccination will not be effective in eliminating the latent infection. Subsequently, any stress, such as that associated with pregnancy, will result in viral recrudescence and shedding. Following birth, the mother cat will transmit the virus to her kittens in her milk, or through grooming, direct contact or nasal secretions.

So if your cat or kitten has any signs of respiratory disease – be sure to have him or her examined by your veterinarian so as to ensure the correct diagnosis can be made, and appropriate treatment can follow.