Warmer Weather Means More Ticks. Here's How to Protect Your Pets

Now that the weather is warming up, you and your pets are likely spending more time outdoors. But be careful where you tread, or you could end up with an unwanted tick clinging to your pet. As a pet owner, you may not consider letting your furry friend in the house without first checking them for ticks after roaming through the tall grass and wooded areas where ticks tend to nest. However, doing so could mean bad news for your pet.

Ticks are tiny, can quickly go unseen in your pet's fur, and can be dangerous. Last year, entomologists reported a 15% rise in the tick population, making Lyme disease more prevalent. And every US state is home to at least one of the seven tick species found in the US, all of which can transmit diseases.

The good news is that ticks can be removed from your pet, but there are a few removal methods that are potentially harmful to your furball. I'll explain how to help keep ticks away and when it's time to take your pet to the vet. It's also important to know the symptoms that may be concerning after your pet has a tick removed.

Importance of canine babesiosis disease testing

Canine babesiosis is a disease caused by the infection of parasites belonging to the genus Babesia. These protozoa can either be large (Babesia canis) or small (Babesia gibsoni). The recent review [Teodorowski, Oliwier et al. "Babesia gibsoni Infection in Dogs-A European Perspective." Animals: an open-access journal from MDPI vol. 12,6 730. March 14 2022, doi:10.3390/ani12060730] suggests that although the percentage of infected dogs by B. gibsoni is around 1% in Europe, it should not be considered a random and imported pathogen but rather a possible emerging parasite. This can have significant implications for veterinary practitioners. In the future, B. gibsoni infections may appear in other non-endemic regions in Europe, which may cause major challenges for veterinary practice.

The first-step diagnostic tool should be the blood smear observations. However, in the case of suspected babesiosis with a negative finding in the blood smear, techniques such as ELISA or PCR should be used to analyze a blood sample.

Bioguard has developed and manufactured the "Canine Babesia gibsoni Ab Rapid Test," a lateral flow immunochromatographic assay kit for the fast, accurate, and qualitative detection of B. gibsoni infections in dogs.