Tick Panel

[Guest dmona]

The group that we got our two greys from never mentioned anything about having a tick panel done. We moved to another State and I got involved with a group and am fostering and when I went to the home of an adopter and listened to our coordinator going over the info., she told them about having blood drawn by their vet and then sending it to Prototek Lab in Az.. Well, we did this on our two and one of ours came back positive for babesia and ehrlichia and now has to have two injections two weeks apart for the babesia and 8 weeks of doxycycline for the ehrlichia. I am told if not treated this could cause death. (the other two tick diseases are the most common Rocky Mtn. Spotten fever and lyme disease._

 

How many have had this done on your dogz as routine? We have had one of our dogs 4 1/2 years and one 2 1/2 years.

Sure wish I had known about this sooner.

[robinw]

i had it done on my own after i adopted phoenix. he also tested positive for babesia and was treated with imizol. tick disease can be pretty serious, even fatal, if left untreated.

[turbotaina]

Protatek is a little dodgy on babesia results - they have a higher than normal positive rate. What were your dogs' titer levels? Are they otherwise symptomatic?

 

I'd re-do the panel through NC State if it were me. Erlichia is treatable via doxy, but the treatment for babesia is much more serious.

[RobinM]

We had a full one done on Teddy recently because his gait was off and so was his range of motion in his neck. The holistic vet wanted a full panel run.

[kudzu]

Our group does the SNAP testing but does not do tick panels. They do not promote having them done. However, it is not a secret or anything kept quiet. We had tick panels run on both mine but without the babesia. Both were positive for Lyme but only my girl proved to have an active infection. For several reasons we later went back & ran tests for babesia & toxoplasmosis on my male. He came back positive for both. Toxo, not a tick disease, just showed exposure but babesia titers were high. We have just finished his Imizol treatment. Treating was not an easy choice to make. He is 11 yo. After considering everything though, treating seemed the less risky option.

 

If your dogs are asymptomatic you may want to consider getting PCR testing from NC State before deciding to treat. Just know that if it comes back negative you would likely be recommended to repeat the test to ensure it was not a false negative. I would not hesitate to treat a healthy dog who has a true babesia infection. It can be devastating.

[Guest mandm]

It is my understanding that Imizol can be used to treat both Babesia and Ehrlichia, so the dog shouldn't need the Doxy. Doxy does not treat both TBDs, only the Ehlichia.

 

Adoption groups in my area do not routinely run tick panels, nor do they recommend that adopters titer if there are no symptoms present. I believe that cost is the reason.

 

I treated my greyhound with Imizol a few years ago. He suffered no serious side effects.

 

It's good that you found out.

 

Good luck.

[gracegirl]

Both of mine have been tested. They both have tested positive for babesia. Grace's number was higher than Fenway's. Grace was treated with the imizol shots. Fenway's titer only showed an exposure to babesia, so I'll do another titer this month and see what the numbers are.

[Guest dmona]

Protatek is a little dodgy on babesia results - they have a higher than normal positive rate. What were your dogs' titer levels? Are they otherwise symptomatic?

 

I'd re-do the panel through NC State if it were me. Erlichia is treatable via doxy, but the treatment for babesia is much more serious.

 

 

Titer levels Ehrlichia 1:16D

Babesia 1:80

 

After reading these posts I am wondering if our coordinator has not overreacted. No, there were no symptoms.

 

Thanks for all of your input.

 

Dianne

[turbotaina]

Those are really low numbers and not likely indicative of active infection (of course, I've known of some really sick babesia dogs that only tested with 1:80, so it depends on the dog). The deal with titers is that they measure an immune response. If your dog was exposed to the diseases, she may have cleared them, but will still show antibodies, kwim? It's like the flu - say someone you live with has the flu. If you got titered, you'd likely show exposure, even if you never got sick. You may want to titer again in 6 weeks or so to see if the numbers increase or if your pup starts showing symptoms. Again, doxy is pretty mild stuff so if you feel you want to do a course of it "just in case" to knock out the erlichia, it likely wouldn't hurt. Imizol can be very, very rough on the dog, though most go through treatment OK. I'd only put my dog through treatment if he were symptomatic OR tested postive for babesia through a PCR test. But that's me

[Burpdog]

What are the rest of the blood test results? Platelets, HCT & RBC? 1:80 is iffy. Depends on symptoms. I'd redo the babesia at North Carolina unless other symtoms are present. I really hesitated to treat Tootsie and even though she went into vestibular disease after the second shot, her blood test results tell me I did the right thing.

 

Re erlichia: all postive results should be treated according to Dr. Stack (bold added)

 

WHY ALL THE CONCERN ABOUT EHRLICHIA

IN ADOPTED GREYHOUNDS?

 

Suzanne Stack, DVM

Studies have shown that it can take as long as 5-7 years following a bite from an Ehrlichia carrying

tick for a dog to show symptoms. By then, a greyhound is long gone from the tickinfested

racing kennel or farm and possibly living in an area where Ehrlichia is unheard of. The

greyhound may present with a variety of mysterious ailments, some of which can be serious

and fatal if not treated. Veterinarians working with adopted greyhounds should maintain a high

index of suspicion for Ehrlichia.

Ehrlichia canis is the most common Ehrlichia species infecting dogs, but there are others (E.

platys, E. risticii, E. equi) and researchers suspect that there are many more. E. canis is a

rickettsia (an organism somewhere between a bacteria and parasite) carried by the brown dog

tick - a common if not universal problem in racing kennels. Greyhounds from all over the

country mingle together sharing their ticks, making racing kennels a smorgasbord of tick-borne

diseases.

Acute (first few weeks) signs of Ehrlichia, such as runny eyes/nose and cough (resembling

distemper) would not be expected in adopted racers. Virtually all adopted greyhounds will be in

the chronic stage. There may be vague signs such as lethargy, fever, anorexia, and weight

loss. Greyhounds may have bleeding, bone marrow suppression, eye disease, neurologic signs,

neck/spinal pain, polyarthritis, enlarged spleen, enlarged lymph nodes, or kidney disease.

Bloodwork may show anemia, low white blood cell counts, low platelets, increased protein

(hyperglobulinemia), and increased ALT/ALKP.

Ehrlichia testing is done with antibody titers. Titers measure the body's immune response to

the bug, not the amount of bug in the dog's body. Most labs titer from 1:20 to 1:1,000,000 or

more. In general, the more chronic the infection, the higher the titer. The IDEXX in-office

"combo" test (heartworm/Lyme/Ehrlichia) catches titers over 1:100. While sick dogs usually

test positive, they might not if:

1. They have a poor immune response (the reason why a very sick dog sometimes tests

negative).

2. They carry an Ehrlichia strain other than the standard E. canis the lab tests for.

3. They have a titer <1:100 on the IDEXX test, or

4. There is variation between labs.

There is not necessarily a correlation between the severity of the disease and the titer number.

All positive titers should be treated.Ehrlichia dogs respond dramatically and quickly (within days) to doxycycline dosed at 5 mg per

pound twice daily. For this reason, greyhounds should be started on doxycycline as soon as

Ehrlichia is suspected. If not immediately available at the veterinary office, all human

pharmacies carry doxycycline (a tetracycline family antibiotic). Often patients are vastly

improved by the time their titer results are back from the lab. This doxycycline trial can be as

useful as the titer results in determining whether to continue with treatment. The standard

regimen we use in Arizona where Ehrlichia is endemic is 5 mg per pound twice daily for 2

months. Doxycycline must always be given with food - otherwise it may upset the stomach.

Alternatively, Ehrlichia can be treated (offlabel) with Imizol, an injectable drug approved for the

treatment of Babesia, another tick-borne disease. The Imizol protocol is two injections two

weeks apart.

There is a poor correlation between resolution of infection and serum antibody titers. In

patients with high antibody titers, the antibody concentrations decline very slowly (over years)

following effective therapy. In many patients, the antibody titers persist at high concentrations

indefinitely. The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, which tests either positive or negative

(no numeric value) for Ehrlichia DNA in the bloodstream, may be used for follow-up testing,

but is not perfect either.

The most reliable indices of response to therapy are clinical signs, CBC changes (i.e. anemia,

platelet counts), and serum globulin concentrations. A reasonable approach is to monitor

recovered dogs with a CBC and titer at six-month intervals as long as the dog remains clinically

normal. If clinical signs develop or the CBC becomes abnormal, re-treat, using Imizol if

doxycycline was used the first time around. The majority of Ehrlichia dogs will require only one

treatment course, but owner and veterinarian should remain watchful in order to recognize a

relapse.

 

you can find a lot of good info and ask questions by joining the Tick List

 

edited to add: while talking with Dr. Couto at SP, I mentioned I thought there was a tick disease we are not testing for or is new and he commented "probably more than one".

Edited April 11, 2008 by Burpdog

[turbotaina]

edited to add: while talking with Dr. Couto at SP, I mentioned I thought there was a tick disease we are not testing for or is new and he commented "probably more than one".

 

Yes - bartonella being one that has made a lot surprise appearances. I think Dr. Couto said something like "what's scary is not the tick diseases that we know about, but the ones we don't know about."

[Guest krisandzoo]

How often should these be ran? Just when they come home or maybe every few years? None of my dogs have ever had one ran and now I wonder if they should.

[Guest mandm]

Just once, after they have been off the track for a few months. No need to repeat unless you suspect new exposure.

[turbotaina]

How often should these be ran? Just when they come home or maybe every few years? None of my dogs have ever had one ran and now I wonder if they should.

 

I think it's a good idea for any dog off the track to have one done, and a full panel at that, done through NC State. Provided you keep up diligently with tick control, the annual IDEXX Snap 4 should keep you up to date (though that only tests for Erlichia, Lyme, Anaplasma and heartworm). I'd do a full panel again if the dog became symptomatic. And keep up to date with info on tick diseases, period - as Diane mentioned above, there's probably a lot out there we don't know.

[ShantisMom]

We tested due to symptoms. We tested positive for Babesia. Shanti's titer was also 1:80 but she was symptomatic. So we treated with the imizol injections. She would get the injection and stay under vet supervision for several hours. She also had to have the atropine (I think that was it) as well. She reacted a bit to the imizol. I can say I agonized over this SO MUCH! But, I can honestly say I don't regret my decision to treat. She needed it and now we are on to other treatments we could not have done if she was not treated for Babesia.

 

If your dog is not symptomatic, I would consider running a PCR test prior to treatment. But that is me. As the treatment is not without risks.

[Guest lotsagreys4me]

I agree, the tick panel should be done at least once after adopting if your group does not do routine testing when they get the greys from the track. If symtoms appear later on then you should re test. As said above, tick disease can take years to rear its ugly head. My boy didn't show symptoms until his was 9 years old.

[TinyMityMo]

So if you have had a negative tick panel done three years ago but are exploring low platelets (but no other symptoms) is it worth doing a new tick panel now because there are new critters tested for?

[Guest mandm]

So if you have had a negative tick panel done three years ago but are exploring low platelets (but no other symptoms) is it worth doing a new tick panel now because there are new critters tested for?

I would, just because low platelets are so serious and a common symptom of TBD.

[Guest HeatherDemps]

Soon after adoption, I had this done and my grey tested positive for babesia, but it wasn't active. We had him tested again later just for that one to make sure it hadn't changed.