Dr. Bryant screens for heartworm and 3 common tick born diseases in one simple yet highly reliable in home test as part of your dog’s annual well visit. The test is the SNAP^® 4Dx^® Test developed by Idexx Laboratories.  It screens for Heartworm disease, Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichiosis. All of these diseases can be potentially fatal to your pet.  The hope is that by screening more thoroughly, these diseases will be picked up sooner. The combination test involves only a single small blood draw and will be run in-house so that you have results by the end of your appointment.

What is Heartworm?

Heartworm disease is transmitted by mosquitoes.  The mosquito bites an infected animal and transfers the immature heartworm (microfilariae) into an uninfected animal to cause the disease.  The adult worms live in the heart and lungs, where they can cause permanent damage and even death!

In Wisconsin mosquitoes has been jokingly considered our state bird making all dogs here at risk. Even those dogs that spend most of their time indoors can be bitten when the pesky mosquito finds its way into your home. Dr. Bryant’s goal is to find low worm-burden cases sooner and more often, and begin treatment when she can do the most good.

What is Lyme Disease?

Deer ticks carry Lyme disease and can be found anywhere.  Lyme is caused by bacteria and can cause lameness, fever, joint swelling, kidney failure or heart problems if left untreated. Even though we can vaccinate against Lyme disease no vaccination can be 100% effective, so even dogs that are vaccinated should have this simple blood test done.

If you vaccinate your dog for Lyme disease the antibodies from the vaccine have been shown not to cross-react with SNAP® Lyme antibody detection, so Dr. Bryant can identify infection in vaccinated dogs.

What is Ehrlichiosis Canis and Anaplasmosis?

Ehrlichiosis is the 2nd most common infectious disease in the US.  It comes from several

common dog ticks and can be potentially life threatening.  Anaplasmosis is passed through the deer tick. Symptoms of both diseases include loss of appetite, runny nose or eyes, depression and can lead to blindness, autoimmune diseases, bleeding complications, or death.  There is no vaccine to prevent these diseases. Early detection is the most effective way to protect your pet because the prognosis is good for early-stage infection, but variable-to-guarded for chronic infections.