Dog owners may need to be alert to many diseases that have never been heard of – tumor diseases, scattered among the same ticks that spread Lyme disease.
Tumor can cause a dog to have a fever or drowsy, lift the nose up and lose weight, but many people show no signs of illness at all. However, in rare cases, dogs can bleed from their nose, have neck pain and suffer from epilepsy.
According to the nonprofit partner animal parasites committee, the proportion of positive dogs in California has soared over the past five years, almost tripling between 2021 and 2024.
Humans can also suffer from this disease. Dogs have much more tick bites than humans, and test vector-borne diseases more frequently, so they can become sentinels for their owners.
“It’s the canary in the coal mine,” said Brad Ryan, a professional service veterinarian at Antech Diagnostics. “When prevalence of animal populations starts to rise, we know that by default, public health risks will also rise.”
Oncology and Lyme disease are spread by the western black leg ticking.
More than half of California counties are marked as high risk of infection, including Santa Barbara and San Diego. It began to rise after a few years of decline.
In Los Angeles County, which is considered to be moderately risky, about 1.2% of dogs are testing positive, and more than twice the 0.5% five years ago.
Companion Animal Parasites Council considers their number to be primer and estimates that they capture only 30% of parasite activity in a given geographical area.
‘This is very
Climate change is one of many factors that exacerbate the increase in tickworm disease nationwide, as warm temperatures allow parasites to enter new areas and lengthen their seasons. In California temperate zone, experts say this risk is risk throughout the year.
The western black-legged tick migrated from the northern part of the state to Southern California. Meanwhile, brown dog ticks (a vector of bacterial infection) are hiking north from Mexico to Southern California.
The good news is that puppies and people with oncology often recover quickly with antibiotics. But some experts say awareness of the threat is lagging behind Southern California, a region known for its history.
“Oncology is not only an East Coast issue; in California, it’s very important in California,” said Sunjya Schweig, Ph.D., founder of the California Center for Functional Medicine.
“Unfortunately, doctors don’t always recognize this, so sometimes it’s hard for people to get the right care.”
In the context
The prevalence of tumor disease among dogs in Southern California remains low relative to other parts of the country, the Parasite Council predictG is about 1% to 2% this year. However, there are hot spots on the northern coast of the state, with 8% or more of them.
Western black tick drips thriving in a humid, cool environment. Experts disagree with their future prospects for communication.
Janet Foley believes they are unlikely to use a rave in the drought SoCal, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
She said they did appear in hospitality areas such as Malibu, Ventura and Santiago.
But Ryan believes ticks may spread in the area.
“I’m always kidding that unless your veterinary clinic is set up in the middle of Death Valley National Park, you’re barely raining almost all year round, there’s nothing to stop these Western black-legged ticks or deer ticks all over Southern California.”
one Report People from the California Department of Public Health have shown that confirmed and possible tumor cases have increased in recent years. Despite the low original figure, the figure roughly doubled between 2020 and 2021 and has been rising until 2023 (the year of the latest report).
In 2023, nearly all 21 cases, including patients from Los Angeles County, are associated with travel to Northern California or other parts of the United States
Furley said regions including New England, New York, Minnesota and Michigan are seeing a sharp increase in Anaplasma. “So we will see more cases here, among dogs and people, because there will be more travel-type anaplasma.”
Local factors may also be related to trends. Schweig said people are building animal habitats deeper to slice the terrain in a way that destroys ecosystems. Predators such as bobcats may no longer be able to look for rodents and birds (tick-like hosts) in pocket parks or suburban landscapes. Therefore, small animals and their parasites flourish.
Controversy: “Like a Religious Fight”
If you walk on four legs than on two legs, it may be easier to test the disease that ticks are transmitted.
“Honestly, we have more options when it comes to veterinary medicine,” said Ryan of Antech. He recommends screening dogs for veterinarians of common vector-borne diseases in the annual health exam and put dog owners on year-round fleas, ticks and heartworm prevention medications.
In the human realm, Schweig describes a huge struggle in proper testing and treatment, like “religious battles” such as the Centers for Disease Control and the American Center for Infectious Diseases “Who Like Me” and the Bay Area Lyme Lyme Foundation and he serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee.
“We’re saying, hey, that’s a big problem. It’s much more common than we know. The test is crummy. There are a lot of patients who haven’t been diagnosed.”
He called the veterinary community “more open” to Lyme and other tickworm diseases. “Unfortunately, when you go to a human doctor, they never offer these tests often unless you like to drip this tick and have a fever.”
Stay safe
In California, ticks are active year-round, but usually pierce the spring and fall of arthropods, peaking in the fall rainfall.
When many people are stabbed by nymph ticks, many are infected, a period of their life cycle roughly the size of poppy seeds and are almost invisible to the naked eye.
Hiking, camping, horse riding and anything that really involves grass can increase the chance of being exposed to bugs.
To reduce the possibility of tick bites:
- Wear trousers and sleeves
- Spray tick bugs on your skin and clothes
- After encountering tickworm areas, such as wooded areas, remove your clothes when you get home and place them under high heat for 15 minutes.
- Check yourself and your human and canine companions to understand these mistakes. Scan the hairline, behind the ears, abdomen, underarms and groin areas is a good thing.
