Lyme Disease in Dogs
Introduction
Lyme Disease in Dogs Guide: Veterinary reviewed information that explains Lyme Disease in dogs. Get started and see what choices you and your vet can make to successfully manage Lyme Disease in Dogs.
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Lyme Disease (Borreliosis) – Definition
Lyme disease is one of the most common of all infectious diseases transmitted by ticks. It affects domestic dogs and other mammals, including people, when they are bitten by infected ticks. Lyme disease has been reported on most continents and can cause very severe illness. The ticks that carry the infective bacteria prefer to live in warm, or temperate, climates. Lyme disease was first officially identified in people in 1975, as a result of an acute outbreak of arthritis in several rural Connecticut communities. One of these was the town of Old Lyme, located in the southeastern part of the state. In the United States, Lyme disease occurs mainly in wooded areas of the mid-Atlantic to northeastern coastal states, and in northern California, the upper Midwest (especially Wisconsin and Minnesota) and the coastal Pacific Northwest. Most cases of Lyme disease are reported from March through October, during the warm months in areas where the ticks that carry this disease live.
Lyme disease is caused by a single-celled, spiral-shaped bacterium known as Borrelia burgdorferi. The main reservoir for these bacteria in the United States is the white-footed mouse. The bacteria can also live and replicate inside of other small mammals, lizards and birds. The organisms are transmitted to larger animals by tiny, hard-shelled, slow-feeding ticks. The ticks become infected with the bacteria when they feed on the blood of infected animals – especially the white-footed mouse.
Most dogs with Lyme disease never show signs of illness. When symptoms do occur, they usually involve limping and lameness, which are caused by pain around the dog’s joints. These signs may wax and wane, but they often come back and, if left untreated, progressively worsen with time.Most owners never know that their dogs have been infected by Borrelia burgdorferi. In fact, only about 5% of infected dogs become noticeably ill. Dogs that do develop
Lyme disease in dogs is not easy to diagnose. Most infected dogs are asymptomatic, which means that they have been exposed to and infected by Borrelia burgdorferi but show no outward signs of illness. In addition, dogs with this disease often have other tick-borne ailments, such as ehrlichiosis or babesiosis, which can mimic the signs of Lyme disease. The initial diagnostic focus usually is to rule out other possible causes of lameness and appetite loss
Fortunately, Lyme disease in dogs is usually treatable. Therapeutic goals are to resolve lameness and soreness, relieve fever and pain, eliminate infectious organisms from the blood stream and provide supportive care for dogs with kidney, heart, neurological or other serious complications. Affected dogs should be kept warm, dry and quiet. Their activities should be restricted until their symptoms have been resolved. In most cases, there is no need to change the dog’s diet.Antibiotics are the