Biliary Warning

Biliary (or tick bite fever) is a potentially fatal tick born disease, which kills thousands of dogs in South Africa every year. Many people believe (wrongly) that because it is can ger very cold in South Africa, that ticks and fleas can’t survive in the winter months…this is not true and in actual fact you should be treating your dogs and cats for ticks and fleas all year round!

Symptoms:
It is important to know that not every tick carries the disease, so if you find a tick on your dog please do not freak out! The symptoms to look out for in your dog include loss of appetite, lack of energy, fever, pale gums (which may later turn yellow because of jaundice), dark or red coloured urine, yellow stools and, in very severe cases, even seizures. You know your dog best and you may not actually notice any of the above symptoms, but if you think your dog is “not themselves”, this is an early warning sign and should not be ignored.

What Should You Do?
Our advice, if you notice any of the above symptoms (even if you have never seen a tick on your dog), take your dog to your vet ASAP! Biliary does have an incubation period of between 10-20 days, so you might not necessarily connect the symptoms with finding a tick on your dog. Waiting even 1 day too long can make the difference between life and death. The quicker biliary is diagnosed and treated the higher the chance of survival for your pet.

Why Tick Control Is Important!
Tick control is by far the easiest and most affordable way to prevent tick borne diseases. There are a number of products available to suit your pet and your budget – they all prevent ticks from attaching to your pet and this then prevents the ticks from transmitting the deadly parasites that can cause an infection. Products range from monthly medications (which we highly recommend) to collars, dips, shampoos and spot-on’s…and the good news is that many of these products kill fleas as well. The saying goes that prevention is better than cure…and in this case, that saying is 100% accurate! So, we hope that this infographic helps you and if your animals are displaying any of the symptoms at all, please get in touch with us if you are in our area or your local vet immediately as biliary can be fatal!

To download the Biliary Warning Infographic please click here

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