Ticks: Tiny But Deadly

Living in a warm and sunny country is great, but with it comes all the parasites and diseases associated with a warm and/or tropical climate. One of these little scourges can be found nearly all over South Africa, namely ticks.

There are two tick-borne diseases to be aware of; biliary and ehrlichia.

Biliary

The Yellow Dog tick bites your dog; this is known as Tick Fever

• A parasite called ‘Babesia canis,’ enters his bloodstream, causing the infection
• Biliary is potentially life-threatening, killing thousands of dogs in South Africa annually
• Thankfully, the sooner biliary is diagnosed and treated the higher the chance of survival for your pet
• The incubation period can be up to 20 days, so often it is not noticed before it is too late

Ehrlichia

• This is borne by the Brown Dog tick and is known as Tick Bite Fever
• The parasite is Ehrlichia canis
• The prognosis is not as dire because symptoms generally show much more quickly than they do in the case of Tick Fever

Prevention

• In both cases, prevention is better than cure
• There are multiple prophylactics available on the market
• A biliary vaccine has become available recently; it doesn’t prevent biliary completely, but does prevent the life-threatening side-effects

For more, click on the link below.