Lyme Disease Map

[drulzelot]

My friend Louise on Newf-L posted this link to a map which shows the Lyme Disease rates throughout the US.
http://www.aldf.com/usmap.shtml


Since there have been a few threads about flea and tick prevention, I thought this might be helpful. Personally, since I live in a high rate area, I'd choose the strongest preventative I could get (and would not consider a generic version), but that's just me. Both of mine are being treated for Lyme Disease right now, and Lyme is something we take very seriously. Frontline reduced the number of ticks we took off, but it never kept them all off. This summer I'll be looking into trying something else.

I'm sure there are other maps out there which show other tick-borne disease rates as well, if anyone knows of any, please post.

 

[rayt]

Has anyone tried Vectra 3D?

 

[drulzelot]

Has anyone tried Vectra 3D?

I'm looking into it. I have to talk to a couple of vets before I use it, I dont' know enough about it yet to decide.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

We've used Vectra on Myra for over a year with good luck but tonight I found a live tick on her. Just looked on the calendar and we are 2 weeks over due. It will go on first thing in the morning. Can't believe I missed it!

 

[ardeagold]

I think that K9 Advantix is working where the Frontline isn't always. Sometimes you have to switch to something different.

I tend to not want to try anything "new" on the market. To me, that means less than 5 years. I still remember those heartworm shots........

 

[lacey9875]

Not that I'm terribly suprised, but my state is listed as, "abundant." I'm with Donna, I'm concerned about trying anything new. I've had a dog that contracted Lyme disease, so I overlap the days when I put Maggie's med's on just in case.

 

[lapage24]

Thanks for sharing. I was just talking about this today.

 

[rayt]

I have used Vectra 3D (a handful of times) and I think it is very strong. We have not had any "problems", but I have noticed that Haley shies away from me when I put it on her ((she didn't the first few times) and I don't use it as often as I probably should because of its strength and the fact thast I have to do it at night and keep her separated from the kids for a period of time). She never gets red or irritated, but I imagine it's causing some discomfort (but I'm assuming any chemical will cause some effect). I am VERY concerned about ticks. My horses have had Lyme (and it's so insidious) and one of our dogs has had it (and he used to get covered in ticks). I think I've only pulled one tick off of Haley. I'm still on the fence about continuing to use Vectra 3D - I have had concerns about it because there seems to be little literature out there about it. I wish there was a non-chemical alternative. I'm interested to hear if anyone else has had an experience with it. Also, what happened with the heartworm shots?

 

[drulzelot]

Since I can't find much on it, I want to talk to a couple of vets before I make any decision to use it. However, for now I'm taking Donna K's (ardeagold) advice and switching to Canine Advantix. I'll stick with the Frontline for the cats, it seems to keep the ticks off them (only two venture far enough to get ticks, the third is so feeble and lazy the ticks would have to hunt her down).

 

[4ondafloor]

Interesting that NC is listed as "rare" yet the DH was treated for it last year.
Ticks are awful here right now. Pulled on off of myself last week. This, after taking the pack for a walk up the nature trails. None on them but me? Yep.
Gak! Ticks give me the heebie-jeebies

 

[ardeagold]

The map indicates reported human cases. Not animal cases. But CT is the worst state of all.

Here's the CDC statistics page:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/ld_statistics.htm

And, remember, Lyme isn't the ONLY tick borne illness out there. Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever, Anaplasmosis, etc are just as bad...or worse.

K9 Advantix can hurt your cats, so make sure to remove the cats from the dogs until the top spot is dry.

 

[drulzelot]

And, remember, Lyme isn't the ONLY tick borne illness out there. Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever, Anaplasmosis, etc are just as bad...or worse.

K9 Advantix can hurt your cats, so make sure to remove the cats from the dogs until the top spot is dry.

Good to know about the cats, Donna, Thank you!!!

I'm wondering if there are maps out there with rates of other tick borne diseases as well. Wish I could find one on canine rates for Lyme, but haven't yet. If anyone comes across any, please post them!

 

[Bojie]

Ive been using frontline topspot on Boj since day one- NJ had tons of ticks in the area we lived as deer were common in our back yard- I only saw one tick on him ever and that was after in had fallen off onto my floor after a trip to PA. Here in CO we don't have ticks. Deer dont come down from the mountains this far. No lymes at all but I still treat them in the warmer months- I backed off during winter for the first time this year. My breeder uses advantix I believe. She feels it also helps with the flies etc from the horses on the farm she lives on. Now- of we can come up with a rattlesnake preventative, it will really help ease all my fears

 

[drulzelot]

Meg, I'm seriously thinking CO is a much better place than CT and we should pack up and start moving, until I got to the rattle snake part....ewwwww

 

[charlieinnj]

Meg, I'm seriously thinking CO is a much better place than CT and we should pack up and start moving, until I got to the rattle snake part....ewwwww

Around here where I live in NJ, we have the ticks AND the (Timber) rattlesnakes. Yippee!:crazy:

 

[ardeagold]

Ugh...we only have copperheads, and they're bad enough. Actually the good thing about rattlesnakes is......they rattle a warning. No warning with copperheads.

 

[Zuki]

This map is out of date, but still represents a lot of collective data:
http://www.dogsandticks.com/NA-map-lyme-disease-dogs/

I'm in CT and tried Frontline last year and it didn't work for us as well as Advantix did. I have tried Vectra as well. Found it to be greasier and smellier than Advantix, but a little less effective. I am in the woods and even with more frequent use of Advantix, herbal junk, and lyme vaccines I have had 1 lyme / ehrlchiosis positive, 1 anaplasmosis positive, and 1 with full lyme symptoms that tested negative on a snap test and positive on a western blot.

 

[ardeagold]

This map is out of date, but still represents a lot of collective data:
http://www.dogsandticks.com/NA-map-lyme-disease-dogs/

I'm in CT and tried Frontline last year and it didn't work for us as well as Advantix did. I have tried Vectra as well. Found it to be greasier and smellier than Advantix, but a little less effective. I am in the woods and even with more frequent use of Advantix, herbal junk, and lyme vaccines I have had 1 lyme / ehrlchiosis positive, 1 anaplasmosis positive, and 1 with full lyme symptoms that tested negative on a snap test and positive on a western blot.

I had one test negative on a SNAP that tested high positive on the titer. I don't think they do the Western Blot anymore here. They do a tickborne disease full PCR panel now.

He also had RMSF which does not show on the SNAP anyway...so it's worthwhile that if your dog tests negative on the SNAP, but has symptoms, to go ahead and get the PCR panel...AND treat until the results come in.

http://www.zoologix.com/dogcat/Datasheets/TickborneDiseasePanel.htm