Dealing With Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Dogs

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a severe, tick-borne illness caused by a parasite called rickettsia rickettsii. In the United States, RMSF is considered one of the most severe tick-borne diseases. Individuals and pets can be prone to this condition.

The most usual transmission is from infected parasites such as wood tick, brown dog tick, and American canine tick. These parasites can attach themselves to your dogs for as long as ten hours, but it takes only ten minutes for an infected tick to transmit the disease to your dog.

Symptoms

A number of the symptoms of RMSF are also present with other illnesses. Indications will show up between 2 and 14 days after an infected tick bit your dog. To be sure if your pets have been exposed to this problem, schedule a visit to an animal hospital in Norristown, PA.

Here are some symptoms of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever:

• Coughing
• Diarrhea, vomiting
• Discharge from the eyes or nose
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Fever
• Inflammation in the legs or face
• Lethargy
• Nosebleed
• Pain in the abdominal area or joints
• Reduced appetite

Diagnosis

An internal medicine vet will keep in mind all the symptoms outlined above. A series of diagnostic tests like blood work, urinalysis, and x-rays will better help your veterinarian validate the RMSF.

The internist may watch for any abnormalities in the red blood cells, complete blood count (CBC), and white blood to point out Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Abnormalities in kidney and liver functions, low protein muscles, abnormal calcium and electrolytes levels increase the possibility of RMSF condition. You may read more about vet internal medicine.

Treatment

The most prescribed treatment for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is antibiotics. Many canines respond to antibiotic therapy within 24-48 hours; nonetheless, dogs with severe cases may not respond to antibiotic treatments.

Prognosis

There’s generally a good prognosis if the illness is identified and treated early. Your dog may even develop lifelong resistance after the infection is cleared for the most part. Nonetheless, if your canine had an advanced Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever situation, the risk of complications is high.

Some risks include kidney disease, neurological disease, vasculitis, and coagulopathies. The latter may require the service of a vet surgeon. The prognosis might be less evident in all these issues, depending on the individual cases.

Prevention

Your veterinarian may suggest parasite prevention medications to protect your dog year-round from RMSF and other tick-borne related diseases such as canine ehrlichiosis, canine babesiosis, and Lyme’s disease.

Limit your dog’s exposure in places where ticks generally gather and wait for their hosts. Places like woods, shrubs, and yards usually are where ticks thrive. The peak months for ticks are from March to October.

Each time your dog has come from a tick-prone area, check immediately if there are ticks attached to your dog. The quicker these ticks are removed, the better chances of preventing the infection.

Constantly use safety gloves when removing ticks to prevent being contaminated. Tick removal kits are inexpensive and can be found in most pet shops and vet clinics; always have this tool close to your side.

You can decrease the possibility of contracting RMSF by taking all the abovementioned preventative measures.