The Center for Disease Control has come out with a new Lyme disease map and paper.
Let me cut to the bottom line: If you live in most of the United States, you have very little reason to fear Lyme Disease.
This is tick-borne disease that winters over in white-footed deer mice, and is carried to humans through a multi-tier tick life cycle that also involves meso-predators such as fox, raccoon, and possum, as well as deer.
Lyme disease has not spread a bit in the midwest (i.e. Wisconsin) and is slowly spreading in the east into Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia from its northeast stronghold in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.
Folks with all kinds of malingering illnesses, real and imagined, claim they have Lyme, but in fact this is a disease that is actually pretty hard to get, and is pretty easy to get rid of, involving a 30-day regime of doxcycline, the same antibiotic used to treat malaria the world over.
Canine Lyme disease tests are less that useless, as there is no need to treat an asymptomatic dog, and dogs that have recovered from Lyme will continue to test positive even though cured.
A 4-day regime of doxycyline will quickly get a dog well again -- at which point, you simply keep dosing the dog for 30 days. Putting a dog on doxycycline for a month is actually far cheaper than going to a vet for a "well dog" check ($10 versus $80).
What about a Lyme disease vaccine? This is junk billing that reflects a veterinarian's desire to pad his bank account. If you want to jab your dog for nothing, and pay for the privilege, go right ahead, but the Consensus Statement of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine remains unchanged for over a decade:
[On immunization t]he only consensus reached is that immunization of dogs in nonendemic states is unneeded. The majority of respondents do not recommend Bb vaccination in endemic states either.
I live and hunt in the middle of Lyme disease country and I do not fear Lyme or pay veterinarians to mumble incantations over me while they lift money from my wallet . Neither should you.
2 comments:
Having tested and treated (with positive results) and just treated (with positive results) multiple dogs for Lyme we are now vaccinating using the newest vaccine (2009). We can see loss of mental and physical stamina in our working dogs when they have been infected; treatment yielded reversal of the loss in stamina within 2-3 days.
Bacterin That Induces Anti-OspA and Anti-OspC Borreliacidal
Antibodies Provides a High Level of Protection against
Canine Lyme Disease
http://cvi.asm.org/content/16/2/253.full.pdf+html
The consensus you posted was published prior to the launch of this newest vaccine. I also doubt most pet owners would see the symptoms we see in our working dogs; which means pet dogs would be asymptomatic with an infection that likely would cause symptoms in highly active dogs. I wonder if your dogs would show symptoms for the same level of infection where we see symptoms in our dogs.
I have been treated for active Lyme twice in five years, and I have no doubt that a 30 day regime of Doxy ( now very expensive, about $150 for the regime) will get most of the offending little buggers. I have learned Doxy does not cross the blood brain barrier very well, and another anti bac, minocycline, does and it makes sense to follow a doxy regime six months later with minocycline just to be sure.
I DO NOT believe in the fairy tale of Long Term Lyme, this is the realm of idiots and the snake oil salesman, ( my opinion ).
As for DOGS, my last dog got lyme Vax all the time and still contracted Lyme and Anasplasmosis a couple times. She eventually DIED from a name brand flea and tick topical the damn vet gave her because of the very high Black LEGGED TICK ( deer tick ) concentration in my local Southern New Hampshire local. Google spooky the Pomeranian to see a couple YouTube video clips about her and some comments about this topical.
I have been making my own Tick Tubes (google it) and putting 100% deet spray on my dog's COLLAR ONLY a couple time a week, and have found almost NO ticks on him this year, no lyme vax ever again, no topical flea and tick ever again. Save money and MUCH healthier for me and the dog.
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