Tested positive for Lyme UPDATE

[Stacy, Bruno, Molly and Gracie]

Just got back from our annual vet check and they did the snap blood test for heartworm etc. Just got a call that Bruno tested positive for Lyme.

The office is now closed and I will call them in the morning. Are there any specific questions I should be sure to ask?

He is symptom free and if it were not for this annual visit I would have never known.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

So I spoke with the vet at length today. She explained that the indication on the snap test was a very strong positive and that her recommendation was to start on the 30 course of Doxycycline and then re-test in 4-6 months. At that point if the snap test comes back positive they would do more extensive blood and urine testing to determine the extent of the Lyme. At this point he is showing no symptoms or fever and so we may have caught it early. He was Lyme negative last year at this time.

I am grateful for all your responses and Karen, the link you gave was great and helped me to ask the questions needed to clarify and to feel as if we (the vet and I) were on the same page. She has treated my dogs since we brought them home so she knows my need for info and spent about 20 minutes on the phone with me to help me feel confident in the process.

Tick borne illness is serious in NJ and I am grateful that it was caught early and there is a treatment plan. Now, on with the day!

[Ginny Nightingale]

hmmm-has he ever had Lyme before? I think that once a dog tests positive for Lyme, they always do--but if not, you might want to have them repeat the test--Lyme causes pretty severe symptoms so I am not sure why he would be fine if he had it.

[Moe]

My dog had it a year ago. She was lethargic and wasn't eating. She was put on antibiotics for a month.  She did fine on them. They test after 3 months and said it was gone so I'm assuming she tested negative.  Did your pup have the Lyme vaccination? Can he get it now? Is it worth it? What to do if there are stomach issues from the meds? Might want to ask the vet their opinion on tick prevention in your area. Are there any potential Lyme related problems your dog might have in the future? What to be on the lookout for.

My dog had been vaccinated for Lyme and got it anyway so I'm not sure how useful the vaccine is. You might want to ask about that also.

Sorry this happened to your little guy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are different types of blood tests for the Lyme antibody, and in some of them, a dog who has been vaccinated for Lyme Disease will test positive because he has the antibodies, but doesn't have the disease. Most in-house blood tests are not sensitive enough to differentiate. 

I would ask the vet if this might be the case with Bruno, and what the test means. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's some good info that might make you feel better: http://www.coralspringsanimalhosp.com/root/index.php?/blog/1/entry-...

[Camilla and Darwin]

Hoping the best for Bruno - keep us updated

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I disagree very strongly with the information and advice in that blog. It is not scientifically based and not at all accurate regarding testing, vaccines,  or about the various tick borne illnesses. There have been several doodles here who became seriously ill from some of them. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yes, and I have one of those dogs who we almost lost due to a tick borne illness.  It is not something to fool around with.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

I agree w/Karen about the blog for the following reasons:

1) There is no references to anything in it - where did all the information come from - what study?

2) The writer of the blog does not even identify themselves!!!!

3) Karen is pretty smart!!

Boomer had a tic borne illness that was detected by our vet and was treated successfully.  I wouldn't fool around with this.  Sometimes the internet does not provide all the answers.  It is always best when you know who is giving advise.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's the ACVIM document referred to: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16594606

From that document:  Serological screening of healthy dogs is controversial because it can lead to overdiagnosis or overtreatment of normal dogs, most of which never develop Lyme disease. However, serological screening can provide seroprevalence and sentinel data and stimulate owner education about tick infections and control. Although it is unknown whether treatment of seropositive healthy dogs is beneficial, the consensus is that seropositive dogs should be evaluated for proteinuria and other coinfections and tick control prescribed. 

So it looks like Mr. Burns kind of twisted that information to suit his own personal theories. :)

It should also be noted that since the study cited (2006), newer testing methods have been developed which do not show a positive reading in dogs who have been vaccinated but have not had the disease, contrary to Mr. Burns assertion that all vaccinated dogs will show positive for Lyme even if they have not had the disease. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

Good work, DKers! Sounds like Bruno is in good hands!

[Robin and Libby Louise]

Good luck Bruno!  Keep us posted!

[Miss Ellie]

Thinking of you and Bruno!