What tick fever is
"Tick fever" is what Hong Kong owners call two blood parasites spread by ticks:
- Babesiosis: infects red blood cells, causing severe anaemia, jaundice and dark urine; can kill within days.
- Ehrlichiosis: attacks white cells and platelets, causing fever, nosebleeds and bruising, and can become chronic bone-marrow suppression.
Both are common in Hong Kong, with signs appearing 1 to 3 weeks after the bite.
Signs
- Fever, lethargy, not eating
- Pale or yellow gums
- Dark brown or red urine
- Nosebleeds, small red spots or bruises on the skin
- Swollen lymph nodes, weight loss
Any of these, especially after a known tick, means a blood test the same day.
Prevention
- Monthly tick preventive all year round: an oral chew (most reliable), spot-on or collar. We advise by weight and lifestyle.
- Check the whole dog after every walk: inside and outside the ears, under the collar, armpits, between toes, under the tail.
- Keep to the middle of trails and out of long grass.
- Ticks found indoors mean treating the home; they lay eggs in wall cracks.
Removing a tick
- Use a tick hook or fine tweezers, grip the tick's head against the skin and pull straight out slowly; do not twist or squeeze the body.
- Never burn it or apply oil or alcohol; that makes the tick regurgitate more pathogens.
- Disinfect the bite, note the date, and bring the tick in a sealed bag if you like.
- Watch for fever, lethargy and urine colour for 3 weeks; test if in doubt.
Diagnosis and treatment
- In-house rapid antibody test plus a blood smear gives a preliminary result the same day; PCR confirms if needed.
- Babesiosis is treated by injection; ehrlichiosis with 4 weeks of antibiotics.
- Severe anaemia needs hospitalisation, fluids and sometimes a blood transfusion.
- Follow-up blood tests confirm platelets and red cells have recovered.
How we can help
24-hour emergency care for acute anaemia and bleeding, same-day in-house blood results, and tick preventives available from our online shop.