(From Todd Epp, Northern Plains News)
A new study suggests South Dakota and the northern Plains could get early warnings about disease outbreaks in people—by watching what’s happening to local dogs first.
Researchers found that pet insurance claims for illnesses like Lyme disease, giardia, and Valley Fever in dogs often rise a year or more before similar outbreaks are detected in humans. These are all zoonotic diseases—illnesses that can spread between animals and people, often through parasites like ticks or contaminated water. The findings, published this week in the journal Scientific Reports, draw on 14 years of claims data from Fetch Pet Insurance and public health records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A Tick’s Warning
Lyme disease is a growing concern in the Dakotas. The study highlights South Dakota and North Dakota as two of six states where Lyme disease is spreading among dogs but hasn’t yet appeared widely in humans. That gap, researchers say, is a warning sign.
“Dogs and people in the Plains share the same environment and tick exposures,” said Dr. Janice O’Brien, the study’s lead author and a veterinary epidemiologist at Virginia Tech. “If we see a spike in Lyme cases in dogs, it’s likely only a matter of time before we see more cases in humans.”
The ticks aren’t waiting. Whether health systems respond in time is another matter.
What the Study Found
The research team tracked more than 1.7 million insured dogs nationwide from 2008 to 2022, looking for patterns in vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. They then compared those patterns to human cases tracked by the CDC.
Key findings include:
-In South Dakota and North Dakota, canine Lyme disease rates are rising even as human cases remain low. The same pattern is showing up in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and South Carolina.
-For Lyme disease, spikes in dogs came up to two years before human cases rose. That lead time could help health departments issue alerts, stock tick prevention supplies, and train rural clinics to spot early symptoms.
-Similar patterns appeared for giardia, a waterborne parasite, and Valley Fever, a fungal disease. In both cases, dog illnesses preceded human outbreaks.
Local Impact
In South Dakota, where veterinarians and public health officials already track some zoonotic diseases, the study could add a new layer to outbreak surveillance—if the right data gets used.
“Dogs are sentinels for what’s happening in our environment,” said Dr. Russ Daly, South Dakota State University Extension veterinarian. “If we pay attention to what’s affecting them, we can protect both our pets and our families.”
The researchers urge state and tribal health departments to consider integrating veterinary health trends—not just those from insurers, but also from clinics and diagnostic labs—into public disease tracking. Currently, such cross-species monitoring is rare. But in rural areas, where human case reporting often lags, even imperfect early signals could help.
What’s at Stake
The study also notes limitations. Pet insurance data doesn’t cover all households—especially in low-income or rural regions where fewer people insure their pets. But the trends are clear.
With Lyme disease risks growing due to shifting tick habitats and climate change, time may be running short for local agencies to act.
For now, South Dakotans are urged to check their dogs for ticks, use preventive measures, and report any unusual symptoms. The next human outbreak may show up first at the vet clinic—if anyone is paying attention.
