Fleas, Fleas, Fleas

Here's a quick flea quiz: In which of these months do we see the highest numbers of animals coming into the clinic with fleas? February, May, August, or November? In ideal weather conditions fleas can double their numbers every 2 weeks. This doubling causes a geometric progression in flea numbers (like 2x2=4, 2x4=8, 2x8=16 and so on) so in just 8 weeks a single male and female flea hiding under your sofa can produce 1024 offspring! It doesn't take too many more doublings until the numbers are off the chart. Flea numbers don't begin to slack off until we get several killing frosts. Also, when it cools down in the fall fleas will stay on the animal to keep warm and jump off to lay their eggs in a warm environment like your living room where they will continue to reproduce (although at a lower rate) indefinately. So, when would you expect to see the highest numbers of fleas? Just before a killing frost in the fall like early November. The point of all this: don't slack off flea control in the late fall. Continue with monthly control at least through December. So far this year we're seeing excellent control with Vectra (monthly spot-on), Comfortis (monthly oral tablet), Sentinel (oral tablet that prevents eggs from hatching into larva), Revolution (monthly spot-onthat also prevents heartworm) , and good to very good control with Frontline. Remember that Sentinel and Comfortis do not kill ticks.

Microcystin Toxin Alert

The Iowa Department of Public Health has issued a microcystin toxin alert for Lake of Three Fires near Bedford in Taylor County. These toxins from blue-green algae are a serious health risk to both humans and dogs. See previous blog post for Sept. 15, 2009.

Public Health Warning

The American Veterinary Medical Association has issued a public health warning regarding rodenticides that contain phosphides, usually in the form of aluminum phosiphide or zinc phosphide. Common brand names include Gopha-Rid, Arrex, Phosvin, and Ratol. Human exposure has occurred when an animal who has ingested the rat poison vomits either from exposure to the poison or when vomiting is induced to rid the animal's stomach of the poison. The chemical produces phosphine gas in the stomach which is released into the air after vomiting. The dry form and the gas are extremely poisonous to humans and pets. If a pet ingests phosphide rodenticide and vomits in a indoor setting all humans and pets should vacate the building and call your local fire department for further instructions from Haz-Mat personel.
For more information go to www.avma.org/public_health/phosphine_gas/default.asp.

Arthritis Studies

Two recent studies on the effects of omega -3 fatty acids and arthritis in dogs were published in the January 1 and March 1 issues of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The studies involved 274 dogs with osteoarthritis. In each study one group was fed a diet supplemented with 3.5% omega-3 fatty acids (Hill's Prescription Diet JD). The other group (control group) was fed the same diet without the added omega-3 fatty acids. Each study lasted about 3 months. The first study looked for improvement of arthritis symptoms with the use of force-plate analysis, a computer assisted machine that measures how much weight the dog is placing on each limb, as well as subjective evaluations of the researchers. The study showed that 82% of the omega-3 fed group were improved versus 38% of the control group.

In the second study both groups of dogs (omega-3 group and a control group) received carprofen (Rimadyl (c) Pfizer) a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NASAID). The study showed that by supplementing omega-3 fatty acids the dosage of carprofen could be reduced. This is significant because of the relatively high cost of prescription NASAID drugs.

(The photo shows severe osteoarthritis in the knee of a 13 year old dog)

Rabies Post Script

Just after I posted the Iowa rabies cases I picked up an article in the journal Veterinary Medicine (Jan 2010) regarding world wide pet overpopulation and its effect on humans. In India 20,000 people die of rabies every year mostly from bites from the country's estimated 30 million stray/unwanted dogs. Many of the deaths are children. In contrast in the United States only 27 people have died of rabies since 1990. Just another reason to be thankful for where we live.

2009 Rabies Cases in Iowa

The state veterinarian's office has released the 2009 rabies case numbers. There were 35 total for the year. Usually the majority of cases in the northern part of the state. In 2009 there were 24 cases in the counties north of Polk County and 11 south of Polk County. There were no cases in Polk County which is kind of unusual. There were 5 cases in the 8 counties that surround Polk. The species distribution for the state was: 13 skunks, 11 bats, 5 cows, 3 cats, 2 dogs, and 1 squirrel. Squirrel rabies is very uncommon. The remainder of the species distribution was not surprising.

Heartworm Testing

If you're not using monthly heartworm preventives year round you should have your dog tested between now and April 15. This is the optimum time to test since there is a 6 month lag between the time heartworms are contracted from an infective mosquito to when the heartworm test can first detect adult worms in the heart. We are actually testing for last summer's infections. As soon as your dog tests negative you can begin the preventive again. You should give it monthly at least from April 15th through December 15th. Many people stop heartworm preventives after the first frost which is usually way before December 15. Since the preventive doesn't kill the immature heartworms until they have been in the body for 6-8 weeks stopping prior to then will allow the immature heartworms to enter the heart and mature into adults. The safest method of heartworm prevention is to just give it year round. It's only an additional 3 months and you get intestinal worm prevention which is present in most heartworm preventives year round. Another reason to give it year round: we've had mosquito hatches in the past during that 3 month period.
If you're using 12 month protection you can test your dog 1 year after the last heartworm test regardless of the time of year. Check with us if you missed any doses though.

A Little More Toxicology

Veterinarians have known for a long time that there are certain foods that are safe for people that are toxic to pets, chocolate for an example. But it seems like the list grows a little every year. In the past year or two we've learned that grapes/raisons and xylitol (an artificial sweetener used in gum and candy) can cause life threatening illness. I've had 3 cases of xylitol ingestion in the past 6 months. One dog was a repeat offender. In all 3 of these cases the dog got into a purse and ingested several sticks of gum.

I found an article for pet owners on the a.s.p.c.a website regarding this problem with a list of potential toxins. There was one on there I didn't know about (avacados? I had no idea- sometimes these things hit the mass media before the veterinary literature.) Check out the article at www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/people-foods.html

Human Medicine Poisoning in Pets

The Pet Poison Helpline reports that nearly half of the calls they receive involve human medications both over-the-counter and prescription. The top ten are:

1. NSAIDs (eg. Advil, Aleve, and Motrin)

2. Acetaminophen (eg. Tylenol). Side note: acetamenophen is especially deadly in cats.

3, Antidepressants (eg.Effexor, Cymbalta, Prozac, Lexapro)

4. ADD/ADHD (eg.Concerta, Adderall, Ritalin)

5. Benzodiazepines and sleep aids, (eg. Xanax, Klonopin, Ambien, Lenesta)

6. Birth control pills (eg. estrogen, estradiol, progesterone)

7. ACE inhibitors (eg. Zestril, Altace)

8. Beta-blockers (eg. Tenormin, Toprol, Coreg)

9. Thyroid hormones (eg. Armour desiccated thyroid, Synthroid)

10. Cholesterol lowering agents (eg. Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor)

Pet Poison Hotline is a service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for pet owners, veterinarians and veterinary technicians that require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. The helpline fee is $35 per incident and includes follow-up consultation for the duration of the poison case. Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/

Canine Influenza Update

I chaired a continuing education meeting of the Greater Des Moines Veterinary Association last Tuesday on an unrelated topic but since we had 40 to 50 local veterinarians there, at the end of the meeting I asked the audience for a show of hands if they had seen any confirmed cases of Canine Influenza. No one had so I asked if anyone had seen any suspected/unconfirmed cases and 4 or 5 raised their hands. The big question is whether or not to vaccinate. I've heard that some boarding and grooming establishments are requiring it. Most infectious disease experts believe it will be everywhere eventually like distemper and parvo. I'm leaving it up to the individual dog owners to decide and a small percentage are opting to vaccinate to be prepared for when or if it becomes endemic in this area.