9 year old Chihuahua with benign splenic mass diagnosed with IMHA – Page 3

Keymaster

Taylor,
That is an awful start to life. It’s a very interesting question.

First, infection and subsequent disease by any tick disease has a lot of variables.

The first very important consideration is the location where he lived. The diseases that ticks carry are variable across the United States and Canada, and they have also changed in the nearly 10 years since Harley was born. The Northeast US has been the hotbed of Lyme disease for a long time. But other parts of the country have not seen this disease until more recently because of warmer climate and tick migration. There are other very serious tick diseases that ticks carry such as Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Babesiosis, Powassan Disease and others that are very regional. Dr. Dodds has written an article on the types of ticks and what regional diseases they carry.
https://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/158354078546/ticks-and-tick-borne-diseases-in-dogs#.Wxk7zlf4y4U

CAPC Companion Animal Parasite Council has a interactive map of the US and Canada that allows owners to explore which tick diseases dogs are being positively identified as having contracted.
http://www.petsandparasites.org/parasite-prevalence-maps/
Go to the map and click on the state where you live, them from the top of the map select Tick Borne Disease Agents and the tick disease you want to check. You can zoom into your county to get local numbers. You can select by year or by month as well. On the side of the map it will display the percentage and number of tested dogs that returned a positive disease, along with the total tested. These are confirmed diagnosed dogs. CAPC is also clear to indicate this is probably a small portion of dogs with disease since many owners never test their dogs.

So once you know what kinds of diseases ticks carry in your area you have a better idea of what a dog could be exposed to.

The next criteria is obviously was any dog in those areas protected against tick bites with some form of topical or ingested tic preventative? That reduces risk.

Then the next variability is if a tick was ever attached did he actually contract the tick disease(s)? There is exposure to disease and there is infection. It is quite possible for a dog to be exposed but fight off infection. Symptoms are variable and can be missed by owners who are not aware.

Lyme disease tends to be very invasive causing havoc in many areas of the body. But the condition vets are most concerned about is the attack on the kidneys. This would be unmistakably serious. Other symptoms might fly under the radar such as shifting joint pain, neurological symptoms.

There are other tick diseases, as I mentioned above, that most ticks also carry and that I consider very dangerous causing serious diseases. Ehrlichiosis is more prevalent now in the lower 2/3 of the country while anaplasmosis is being see in the upper Northeast and in a few states bordering Canada. Lyme disease is prevalent in the Northeast and a few states bordering Canada and moderately active in the upper 1/2 of the US. Tick diseases are world wide and mirror the variability of location.

There is controversy about Lyme disease in particular because some parts of the medical community feel it is only an acute disease and if treated goes away. There are humans who have contracted Lyme disease who claim otherwise. Many people feel they have a chronic form of the disease which devastates their lives. This is a complex medical controversy. I have a friend who probably contracted it in the late 90’s and is now totally disabled and unable to walk and uses an electric chair. She went un-diagnosed for a long time and then finally when diagnosed the treatments were not effective.

So the answer is maybe, maybe not. If he did contract it early in his life, or any of the other diseases, the question is will the screening test pick it up? The SNAP4DX is a yes/no test, not a quantitative test. There are other more sensitive tests that tell you “how much” infection there is. So sometimes it is also important to use those tests to determine infection and how serious it is. If being treated, they can tell you if the treatment is working.

By the way there are other diseases that can also cause havoc with the kidneys. Leptospirosis is a very serious condition that can cause kidney failure very quickly. There is a test for that as well. This is usually contracted in areas where wildlife congregate near water. Their urine will contain this disease and it can be passed on to dogs or humans by contact with the mud or water.

The question is, if he has contracted Lyme, how long ago and will a prolonged and high dose treatment with doxycycline reverse some of the damage on the kidneys. Dogs can survive ok with less kidney function but it depends on the seriousness of the destruction. These are questions for a tick disease specialist.

Let’s see what the screening test returns but I think it might be a good idea to request a consultation with Dr. Dodds to explore what is happening. You can find her consultation form under the menu item above called Second Chance Resources, click on the top item Hemopet Resources. On this page are links to various Hemopet pages, one of which is a owner consultation page. Many of us have consulted with her about our dogs, she saved Chance’s life, and it is inexpensive.

my best, Patrice

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