Just as humans do, dogs, cats, and horses all experience different types of diseases. When they hit, these diseases can cause serious illness in your pet. You may wonder how you can get them the best treatment possible, and save their lives when a disease has wreaked havoc on their life. Veterinary diagnostics companies are the best start, giving you options with contract lab services that give a canine heart worm test, equine infectious anemia virus antibody test, and more. Today we will discuss some of these diseases in-depth and why it is important to take your pet to a vet for treatment.
The Risk of Heartworm in Your Pet
Many pets have heart worm disease, which is a leading cause of illness in dogs and cats. With about 80 million dogs and 96 million cats being owned as pets in America today, it’s no wonder that some of them will fall ill from this serious disease. Many vets will check for heart worm disease on a monthly level, which works better as a preventative option, especially for your wallet. By choosing preventative services, you could be saving yourself over $1,000. About 1 million dogs are estimated to be heart worm positive in the U.S. every year, which is what makes these tests so vital. Infected dogs have somewhere around 30 worms in their hearts and lungs, while cats have about 6. However, no matter how many worms are present, your pet will suffer and become very ill. Through preventative measures and diagnostics, your pet can get the treatment they deserve and be back on their feet in no time.
EIAV
Horses can also fall victim to Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV), with the majority of horses being carriers. They may not show any signs as a result of the infection right off the bat. 1/5 of a teaspoon of blood from an EIAV carrier contains enough of the virus to infect up to 10,000 horses. When horses are exposed, their health will decline rapidly as they show severe and acute signs of the disease within weeks, and promptly die after without care.
As you can see, there are many risks to our loved ones, which is why veterinary diagnostics companies matter so much in our times. With so much at risk, we don’t want to lose our best friends.