LYME DISEASE IS EVERYWHERE!

LYME DISEASE IS EVERYWHERE!

At least that is how it seems.  When I moved to Upstate New York 5 years ago from Northern New Jersey I was used to seeing Lyme Disease on a daily basis.  However, during my first 2 years in the Southern Tier I DID NOTSEE ONE CASE OF LYME DISEASE IN MY PATIENTS.  I wa happy abot this at the time because, despite what several local Veterinarians told me at the time, I knew that Lyme Disease was a REAL DISEASE that did infect, hurt and even kill many pets.  I also knew it was treatable and even curable if handled properly because I and my colleagues in New Jersey did so regularly.  Unfortunately, about 3 years ago I began seeing more and more cases of Lyme Disease in my canine patients.  There was a point last year when my House Call Practice was diagnosing an average of one case of Lyme Disease per day!  It was at that point that I decided to implement the vaccination stategies that we used in my New Jersey practice as, if the patients in that hot bed of Lyme Disease could benefit from sch an action, I knew my patients here could as well.  Since that time, we have successfully treated dozens of Lyme Infected patients, prevented eve more through vaccination and, thankfully, have seen a drop off in the diagnosis of new Lyme Disease cases in our practice!  Similar findings have been seen in other local practices and I have even seen several of the Veteinarians who previously denounced the seriousness of Lyme Disease take a 180 degree turn in their thinking and embrace similar measures.  This is great butit is only the beginning.  We must continue testing, treating and vaccinating our at risk patients rather than taking the common road that is frequently traveled in the medical field: controlling a disease just enough so that we begin to forget about its seriousness and then backing off on our control measures only to find it back again in the near future.  In my 10 years of practice I have seen this happen several times with other diseases (Feline Leukemia Virus and Leptospirosis come to mind) and I hope it does not happen with Lyme! 

So, continue to use top of the line tick prevention (I recommend Frontline Plus and Preventic Collars where necessary) and have your dogs tested for Lyme Disease, treated if positive & then vaccinated once proven to be negative.  And speak to your own doctor ifyou are concerned about your own health.  While it is a documentary about human Lyme Disease, consider checking out "UNDER OUR SKIN".  The similarities between the effects of this disease on humans and dogs is very similar and the response of human physicians is eerily similar to the controversies we have seen in the Veterinary Field whenever this disease is discussed.  After all, we are really not that different!