Veterinarians warn pet owners about tick season, advise preventative measures

A Winnipeg vet says her animal hospital finds pets that test positive for Lyme every week and stresses that prevention of tick-borne diseases and early detection are key.

"[Deer ticks] can be very, very tiny … so you can't just rely on saying, 'Well, I'll look for them,'" Dr. Erika Anseeuw said in an interview on Tuesday. 

Veterinarians are cautioning pet owners that tick season has arrived and with it, a multiple-threat health risk to dogs of anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease.

Manitobans are spending more time outside this spring amid a third wave of the pandemic, but owners can keep their pets and themselves safe with preventative tick measures, vets say.

Ticks are small eight-legged parasites that don't socially distance but survive off an animal host's blood by biting into the skin.

Deer ticks, otherwise known as black-legged ticks, are the primary carriers of the bacteria that cause anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease.

These crawlers can be as small as poppy seeds and transmit these diseases into hosts, usually at any outdoor temperature above 4 C, after having latched on for at least 24 hours.

Lone star ticks, which aren't as common in Manitoba, also carry the bacteria that causes ehrlichiosis.

Ticks present more of a risk in southern Manitoba, the provincial government says, but their range is expanding northward, owing in part to climate change.

Dr. Philipp Schott with Winnipeg's Birchwood Animal Hospital said people can assume deer ticks in southern Manitoba — where Lyme disease is endemic — carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, which wasn't the case about a decade ago.

"That doesn't mean [deer ticks] are going to transmit it necessarily, nor does it mean the animal's necessarily going to get sick," Schott said in an interview on Tuesday.

"Dogs are somewhat resistant compared to humans … but nonetheless."

Dogs sick with Lyme disease usually have pain and swelling in their joints, as well as a fever after exposure. In its chronic form, the disease affects the pet's kidneys.

Schott, along with veterinarian Dr. Jonas Watson at Grant Park Animal Hospital, said they don't come across many clinical cases of Lyme disease in the city. Animals living in the countryside that face a larger tick burden are more likely to show symptoms, Watson said.

Deer ticks tend to live by the edges of wooded areas and near vegetation offering moisture and shade, but Anseeuw says all dog owners, even within urban areas like Winnipeg, should be wary of them.

"I think we're seeing an increase generally in the province, because the deer ticks have spread to more areas," said Anseeuw, who works at Winnipeg's Pembina Veterinary Hospital.

"Where it used to be you had to go to the woods to encounter a deer tick, now you can pick them up right in the city."

Anseeuw doesn't ask where people take their pets anymore and recommends tick prevention for all dogs spending time outside.

"I think it's just safest … if your pet is on some sort of tick protection," she said.

"It's recommended that you do the test every year to check to make sure that there's nothing brewing there, and you have the discussion about what's appropriate for tick prevention for your pet."

Anseeuw said most of her clients have their dogs on prevention, a sentiment also echoed by Schott and Watson.

Deer ticks usually gravitate toward a dog's head, armpits and derrière. Preventative measures such as medication in the form of monthly and 12-week chewable tablets, which are safe and effective, kill these blood-sucking arachnids within hours of them latching onto their hosts, Watson said.

Dogs take tablets according to their weight, which can cost around $5 to $70 per tablet, depending on the brand, retail store and weight of the dog. Other products, such as tick collars and a Lyme disease vaccine, are also available.

Dogs carrying ticks could also be hazardous for owners by bringing them into homes.

"If your dog is getting Lyme-positive ticks, then people are potentially in danger, so they certainly want to protect the dogs and therefore, protect [themselves]," said Schott.

Anseeuw said Manitobans spending time outside should get in the habit of doing daily tick checks on themselves.

"It really needs to be more on our radar," she said.

In the last few years, confirmed cases of Lyme disease in Manitobans have risen from 12 in 2015 to 30 in 2019. The province also reported an annual increase in probable cases over the same time frame.

App helps ID ticks

Last week, the Manitoba government announced it had joined the eTick app and website to help Manitobans identify ticks and track where they found them.  

"More and more Manitobans are exploring nature and the outdoors during the pandemic. While this is a safe, healthy way to connect during the pandemic, we also want people to pay attention to reduce their risk of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses," Health Minister Heather Stefanson said in a news release.

"The eTick program will ensure people can access rapid tick identification and distribution maps, while enhancing the surveillance of tick species in Manitoba."

People can submit their tick pictures and find out what kind of tick they found, which can help them determine whether they or their pet are at risk of getting sick with a tick-borne disease.