Lyme Disease

Summer always feels more like summer with limes. Key lime pie, drop a lime in a Corona, lime margaritas. I love limes! Unfortunately, we’re not talking about that kind of lime. Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease that affects animals and humans.
Lyme disease is caused by a spirochete called Borrelia burgdorferi that lives within the tick. If you or your pet is bit by a tick, the spirochetes enter your blood stream. The tick has to be attached for more than 24 hours to transmit the disease. There are two good things about this. First, you have to be bit by a tick to get Lyme disease. You cannot get it from your dog or pass it to other people. Second, the 24 hours it takes to pass the disease allows tick medications to kill the tick before it has a chance to spread. This is why tick preventatives are so important to use in our pets.
Lyme disease can present with multiple symptoms. Typically, dogs present with joint pain and limping. Sometimes we see “shifting leg lameness,” where a dog limps on one leg one day and then a different leg the next day. Dogs may develop a fever, not want to eat, and may be depressed. A rare complication can occur where the disease attacks the kidneys, called Lyme nephritis. This leads to fatal kidney failure.
Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics. The antibiotics can greatly help the symptoms, but many cases of Lyme disease go into remission only to reoccur at a later time. Cats can test positive for Borrelia but do not get the clinical symptoms of Lyme disease and do not need to be treated.
This is a tough disease to treat. Fortunately, tick preventatives are very good at killing ticks before they have a chance to transmit Lyme disease. Ask your veterinarian about preventatives before using them. I’m off to get a Margarita!
Stevenson Ranch Veterinary Center is located at 25832 Hemingway Ave. in Santa Clarita. For details please call 661-799-0655 and visit www.srvc.com.