Many dog owners living outside the Northeastern United States believe they and their pets are absolved of the threats concerning Lyme disease. Not true. While Connecticut has had the highest frequency of Lyme disease of any state in the nation since 1992, and the Northeast in general continues to be a hotspot, the potentially deadly disease has spread to the District of Columbia and every state except Hawaii, Oklahoma and Montana.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that deer ticks, which are mostly localized to states in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic and upper north-central regions, and to several counties in northwestern California, caused more than 23,000 cases of Lyme disease in 2002 (a 40 percent increase over 2001) and estimate that tens of thousands of cases go unreported each year.

Another misconception may be that only people — not animals — are susceptible. Again, not true. In fact, according to the American Lyme Disease Foundation’s best estimates, Lyme disease can occur at rates in dogs that are 50 to 100 times the rate of humans.

“Dogs are at much greater risk for Lyme disease than are people living in the same geographic area,” says David Weld, executive director of ALDF.

Additionally, dogs may be at an increased risk of exposure to ticks because of the time they spend outside and because ticks can be difficult to spot on an animal. Worse, the CDC issued a warning in mid-April that the number of deer ticks that spread Lyme disease will likely reach an all-time high this year.

Dr. Michael Dryden, professor of veterinary parasitology at Kansas State University, notes that tick populations are booming directly because of an increase in the white-tailed deer population that hosts the speck size ticks. Taken together, the threat to people and dogs has never been more severe.

Consistent control necessary

That’s an important point: the threat is to people and dogs. That makes understanding Lyme disease and protecting your pets from it not only a dog owner’s responsibility, but important to one’s own health as well. Fortunately, with monthly parasite control products on the market like K9 Advantix from Bayer Animal Health, prevention in dogs and puppies seven weeks of age and older is relatively easy. As always, trust your veterinarian to know which product is best for your pet.

Dryden warns that no matter what product your veterinarian recommends, it is important to protect pets in all seasons. “You put your pets at extreme risk by doing hit and miss parasite control,” Dryden says. “You need to commit to providing your pet with the year-round, lifetime administration of preventive parasite control products.”

A condition like Lyme disease that can be spread in some fashion from animals to people is called zoonosis. There are more than 150 known zoonoses, from murine typhus and West Nile virus to the Bubonic plague and Lyme disease. In fact, the Texas Department of Health recently confirmed several cases of the Bubonic plague carried by rodents who had been bitten by infected fleas, putting our household pets at risk.

Lyme disease is what’s known as a “vector-borne” disease, or one carried by a person, animal or microorganism. Dogs are at risk for Lyme disease, especially in the warm spring, summer and early fall months because they spend more time outside. The deer ticks that carry the disease attach themselves to the animals and basically — here’s the ewww factor — feed on them, sucking their blood. The longer they stay, the more apt the “host” is to become infected. (Incidentally, deer ticks, with their eight legs and two body parts, aren’t insects, which have six legs and three body parts, but arachnids, the same biological family as spiders.)

Prevention is best medicine

Board certified veterinarian Dr. Fred Metzger of Metzger Animal Hospital in State College, Pa., says dogs infected with Lyme disease may show signs (symptoms) like lameness, fever, kidney disease, neurological problems, heart disease or no signs at all in the early stages of the disease. Metzger recommends a yearly blood test called the 3DX test which tests for Lyme disease, heartworm disease and another emerging tick born disease called Ehrliciosis. This important and relatively inexpensive test requires only a few drops of blood and can be performed in your veterinarian’s office in less than 10 minutes.

While treatment, for both pooch and person, is relatively successful, diagnosing it in the first place can be difficult, especially in pets where the symptoms may not be readily apparent. Because diagnosis is not always easy, doing something about deer ticks before there’s even a chance for infection is important.

– Dr. Marty Becker is the co-author of the new book “Chicken Soup For The Horse Lover’s Soul” and a popular veterinary contributor for ABC’s “Good Morning America.”