Question:
I want to express my concern about a tick-borne disease just coming into our area that is fatal not only for animals, but humans, too. It is called Ehrlichia. A lot of people and vets are unaware of this disease and don't know how to treat it or how deadly it can be.Unfortunately, I found out about it the hard way. On Nov. 13 of last year, I lost my precious dog Dukie (who was only 13 years young) from this disease after she was sick for only two weeks. She had Lyme disease for about three years and was always treated for it, so we never thought to look for anything more serious until that time. Her red blood cells and platelets went dangerously low, and her white blood cell count was too high. Our vet figured she was only in the first, or acute, stage of the disease. We immediately started her on treatment of doxycycline and vitamin K (to help keep her from bleeding to death due to low platelets). She died in just three days and was, it turned out, in the last deadly stage of the disease.The only was to kno
L.H., Dover Plains, NY Apr 18, 2004
Answer:
Your letter raises an important public health issue that more veterinarians and physicians are on the alert for -- namely, the increasing incidence of "exotic" diseases, many of which are transmitted by ticks and other insects. In addition to Lyme disease and Ehrichiosis, here are some other tick-related conditions: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q fever, theileriosis, babesiosis, trypanosomiasis, borreliosis, tularemia, anaplasmosis, heartwater disease, yellow fever, Colorado tick fever virus, Central European encephalitis virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus and tick paralysis.The more that people (and their animals) travel, the more these tick-borne diseases spread. Global warming and climate changes, coupled with pesticide resistance in ticks and pesticides killing off birds and other tick-eating/tick-controlling creatures, all call for greater vigilance and more effective methods of tick control.
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