These Are The Tick-Borne Diseases That Only Affect Your Pets
These Are The Tick-Borne Diseases That Only Affect Your Pets
Adult humans know how to protect themselves from the many dangers that are present within our everyday environments. When it comes to harmful bugs in the environment, for example, most adults are well aware of the large number of protective measures that can be taken to avoid contact with disease spreading bugs. Of course, our pets, on the other hand, do not know how to protect themselves; instead pets rely on their owners for their own well being. This is why every dog or cat owner should be aware of the dangers that are facing their pets on a daily basis. Awareness concerning tick-bite prevention is becoming more widespread among the public. However, there is little discussion about the ticks that spell danger for pets. There are several types of ticks that can spread disease to dogs and cats, but some of the diseases that they spread are almost exclusively contracted by dogs, cats and other small mammals. In fact, the vast majority of pet owners have probably never heard of some of the common tick-borne diseases that mainly infect dogs and cats.
Both humans and their mammalian pets can contract the same tick-borne disease, and they can even experience similar symptoms. For example, humans and most other mammals can contract lyme disease. However, there are some tick-borne diseases that are extremely rare in humans, but are common in pets. One of these tick-borne diseases is known as “Ehrlichiosis”. This disease can occur in cats, but it is far more common in dogs.
Ehrlichiosis is spread by the brown dog tick. This tick transmits a bacteria called “Ehrlichia”. This bacteria infects white blood cells and can remain within a dog’s spleen for months. Symptoms of this disease include nausea, vomiting, weight-loss, a loss in appetite, diarrhea and/or eye inflammation. Another tick-borne disease known as “Babesiosis” is common among pets, especially dogs.
Babesiosis is spread by common deer ticks, which also carry lyme-causing bacteria. A protozoan parasite referred to as Babesia is transmitted to dogs and cats through a tick’s saliva during a bite. Symptoms include fever, lack of appetite, pale gums, enlarged abdomen and discolored stool. This parasitic tick-borne disease sometimes requires dogs to undergo a blood transfusion. Humans can also contract Babesiosis, but this is very rare. Simply checking your pets for ticks regularly can prevent them from falling victim to one of these tick-borne diseases.
Have you ever had a dog that contracted a tick-borne disease?
