Lyme disease vaccine is a non-core vaccine, meaning it’s not needed for all dogs in all areas. It’s an effective vaccine, and I’d consider it a reasonable vaccine to give to dogs in (or visiting) higher risk areas, especially when there might be owner compliance issues with tick preventive medication. Available tick preventatives are very
ticks
Asian Longhorned tick and the role of canine (and feline) surveillance
As the Asian Longhorned tick (Haemophysalis longicornis) continues to spread in the US, we wait for it to make an appearance in Canada. This “exotic tick” was introduced to the US from Asia possibly a while ago, but was only first detected in 2017 in New Jersey. It has since clearly established itself…
PetsAndTicks… New for 2019
I 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…
Confusing Lone Star tick advertising
The 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…
Canadian Pet Tick Study
We’re getting ready to launch the Canadian Pet Tick Study, with funding from the OVC Pet Trust. We’ve had great response from veterinarians in Ontario, but need more clinics from other provinces, so please share this link with out-of-province veterinary colleagues who may be interested! Details are available here:
https://www.petsandticks.com/news/calling-all-veterinary-clinics-join-the-canadian-pet-tick-survey
Leftover zoonotic disease Q&A, Part 2
Here are some more leftover questions from the talk I did a talk recently for Third Age Learning in Guelph:
As West Nile virus seems to be spreading, is there a vaccine becoming available for the general population?
Probably not, but that’s just a guess. While it should be possible to make an effective…
Dogs and tularemia
Tularemia is a nasty bacterial disease. The bug that causes it, Francisella tularensis, is a category A bioterrorism agent (along with things like anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox and Ebola virus). It’s classified as that because it’s highly transmissible and causes serious disease, so it’s something you definitely don’t want.
The bacterium circulates in the…
Staying tick-free during feeding season
Click here for an article from TheConversation.com by Dr. Katie Clow (of petsandticks.com fame… well maybe not “fame” quite yet, but the site’s getting more and more attention) about “How to avoid Lyme disease while ticks are hungry in the fall.”
PetsAndTicks.com: Our 400th tick of the year
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Ticks know no borders
While ticks don’t care about political boundaries, researchers often do (or practical aspects dictate that we must). That doesn’t mean we can’t work together, though. A recent post at our related site petsandticks.com talks about the differences between US and Canadian tick submissions, and how US residents can submit ticks to the Show Us…