By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,ParasitesI keep saying spring is approaching and I keep getting disappointed by the cold weather. But it’s going to happen soon, so we’ve been gearing up for tick season. There are a few new initiatives underway for tracking ticks and tickborne diseases in Canadian dogs and cats. Check out the recent post at PetsAndTicks.com for more… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsThe snowfall we had on the weekend notwithstanding, spring is here. As the weather warms up in Ontario (and other regions), we have to once again think more about ticks. Once the temperature reaches ~4C, hungry ticks that didn’t feed in the fall will come out, looking for food. Accordingly, tick prevention for people and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs“Use it and lose it” is often said when it comes to antibiotic resistance concerns. Every time we use an antibiotic (in a person or animal), there’s some potential for resistance to emerge. The more we use antibiotics, and the worse we use them, the greater the risk, generally speaking. Questions about the (rampant) use… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsI’m a little late writing about this (since I’m talking about 2018 forecasts midway through 2018), but the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC)‘s parasite forecasts are worth a look. They don’t include Canada, but they show some interesting predicted patterns in the US. The maps are below, but check out the CAPC website to get… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesPublic Health Ontario has once again posted their updated Lyme Disease Risk Areas map for 2018. For comparison, you can still also access the 2017 map too, and you can see that once again (not surprisingly) the risk areas have expanded somewhat, including more of Eastern Ontario, as well as a few notable spots in… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAt the 2018 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) forum, Dr. Michelle Evason gave an update on the Canadian canine lifetime Lyme study, which she also wrote about briefly last year on this blog when the study was launched. It’s a longterm (lifetime, hopefully) study following a large group of dogs, looking at Lyme… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,ParasitesIf you’d asked me a few years ago, I wouldn’t have said that’s a question I’d expect to get (daily). However, we’re in a different world tick-wise now, so it’s a common and understandable question, particularly because of our tick tracking efforts. The answer is no/possibly/maybe later. How’s that for a straight answer? We are… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsMinus 20C weather is supposed to have some benefits – at least that’s what we try to tell ourselves. (Maybe we’re just trying to justify why we haven’t migrated south.) I’ve written about leptospirosis a few times recently, given the horrible lepto season we’ve been having. This bacterial disease isn’t new, but there have been… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesMy lab has been spending a lot of time on Lyme disease over the past couple of years. It’s a fascinating (and frustrating) disease to work on, and we need to learn a lot more about it. In this region, we’re seeing clear changes in tick populations and the diseases they carry. With climate change, that’s not… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Horses,Other diseases,ParasitesGuest Blog by Dr. Michelle Evason DVM DipACVIM, and current PhD student researching Lyme disease in dogs Recently, an interesting article on pet ownership and human tick risk was published (Jones et al, Zoonoses and Public Health 2017). The study looked at risk factors for “tick encounters” in people living in Lyme disease endemic states in the… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,HorsesGuest blog by Dr. Michelle Evason, DVM DipACVIM (as well as current PhD student and coordinator of our Lifetime Lyme Study) In 2014, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) initiated a 3-year marketing campaign (news, advertisements, social media, collaboration with Parks Canada to post signage, etc.) to try to raise the general public’s awareness and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,HorsesTo continue the map-posting binge that I’ve been on lately, Public Health Ontario has just posted their updated Lyme Disease Risk Areas map for 2017. For comparison, you can still also access the 2016 map too, and you can see that the risk areas have indeed expanded somewhat, particularly in Eastern Ontario. The estimated risk… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,HorsesOver the years, we’ve tried a variety of new approaches to promote awareness (among the public, veterinarians and others) and to collect relevant research information. Some (like this blog) have taken on a life of their own and exceeded our expectations. Some didn’t go very far. Our most recent initiative is the PetTickTracker, a website designed… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,HorsesIt’s pretty clear that tick ranges are changing. In Ontario, we’ve seen movement of ticks into areas where they were never seen before, as well as potential changes in the types of ticks that are found in different areas. The potential for tickborne diseases like Lyme disease highlights the importance of understanding tick distributions. Knowing where… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsSome diagnostic tests that are available are more of a situation of a test looking for a market rather than filling a clinical need for additional information. That complicates matters since providing new information isn’t necessarily useful if we don’t know what to do with it. In some situations, it can even lead to bad decisions.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThe Ontario Animal Health Network – Companion Animal has released a new infographic on Ticks and Lyme Disease in Ontario: What’s The Real Risk? It’s obviously Ontario-centric but some of the messages apply more broadly. It’s important to consider what the real risk of exposure is, and that involves thinking about things like how common Borrelia… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsPart I Lyme disease is accompanied by enough paranoia. Bad headlines don’t help. A recent article on The Daily Mail is about Lyme disease and pets. It’s actually not a bad article, outlining some important issues. However, the headline shows a big disconnect between some good content in the article and a complete misunderstanding of… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other diseasesThe latest Worms & Germs infosheet, all about Lyme disease and ticks, is now available on the Resources – Pets page. Although it’s getting colder and occasionally snowy up in Ontario, there are lots of parts of North America where ticks are active all year round. It’s particularly important for any "snowbirds" who may travel… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsA paper that will be published in the September edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases (Mead et al 2011) talks about the potential for dogs to act as indicators of Lyme disease activity and risk for people. The use of animals as sentinels for human disease is well established. Sometimes it’s because animals are more readily… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAn important concept when dealing with infectious diseases is consideration of the risk that an animal has been, or will be, exposed to a particular microorganism. Some diseases vary greatly geographically, and something that’s very important in one region may be rare or non-existent in another. Good veterinarians are aware of disease trends in their… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other diseasesThe world is certainly getting "smaller," especially in terms of infectious diseases. One example is the renewed controversy this month over the existence of Lyme disease in Australia. A Sydney man was recently diagnosed with the disease following his death, and now a doctor from Laurieton claims to have "absolute proof" of at least two… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsInsideToronto.com published an article entitled "Unsuspecting resident contracts Lyme disease from pet dog". However, Lyme disease cannot be transmitted from dogs to people. Lyme disease is a tickborne disease caused by the bacterium Borrellia burgdorferi. This bacterium is transmitted from wildlife reservoirs to people and pets by ticks that have fed on an infected animal,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,ParasitesAs we (finally) get nice weather here, a rash of questions about ticks usually follows. Ticks are very common in some areas, and a short walk in the woods can result in exposure. Ticks themselves aren’t the concern. The problem is infectious diseases that ticks can transmit, including Lyme disease. The risk and types of… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Dogs,Other diseases,Parasites,Rabies,VaccinationThe warm weather is just about here, and that means the start of camping season. Lots of people love to spend time in the great outdoors during the summer, whether it’s at a summer cottage on the lake, trailer camping in a park with electricity and running water, or roughing it in a tent in… Continue Reading
