34 Ticks: Lyme disease
Description
This article is from the Fleas, Ticks, and Your Pet FAQ, by tittle@zmall.com (Cindy Tittle Moore) with numerous contributions by others.
34 Ticks: Lyme disease
Lyme disease is a complex illness that affects wild and domestic
animals, including dogs, as well as humans. It is caused by a
corkscrew-shaped bacterium called borrelia burgdoferi.
First noted in 1977, the disease has rapidly spread throughout the
contintental US and Canada. Studies have shown that migrating birds
have helped disperse infected ticks to new areas. Hunting dogs, or any
dog that runs in tick-infested fields, can bring the problem home with
them. And so do people who move from place to place with infected
pets. It is expected that Lyme disease will soon be a problem in all
48 contiguous US states.
You should note that Lyme disease is fairly easily treatable with
antibiotics. Problems occur when it is left untreated. Lyme disease
appears to affect humans a bit differently and is more complex to
treat.
Sources for additional information on Lyme disease:
* State and local health departments
* Your veterinarian or family physician
* Local Lyme Disease support and informational groups can be found
in many areas
* Lyme Disease Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 462
Tolland, Connecticut 06084
(203) 871-2900
(800) 886-LYME
* The Lyme Disease Electronic Mail Network publishes the " LymeNet
Newsletter" once every 10-15 days. The Newsletter contains timely
news about the Lyme disease epidemic. Medical abstracts, treatment
protocols, prevention information, and political happenings are
all included. In addition, subscribers may ask questions to the
patients, doctors and researchers on the net. To subscribe, send
email to listserv@Lehigh.EDU, with
subscribe LymeNet-L
in the body of the message. Problem reports only should be sent to
Marc Gabriel (marc@eclipse.net), the owner of the list.
* http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/lyme/lymedis.htm
Continue to:
My Books
