Stats from the Veterinary Industry Tracker powered by Vetsource and AVMA

May 19–25, 2024

With tick season in full swing, experts are warning that the 2024 U.S. tick population will likely surpass last year’s numbers.

Mild winters are allowing different tick species to slowly make their way into new areas of the country. For example, the lone star tick and the Gulf Coast tick — ticks usually found in the South — have been detected in multiple northern states, including New York. And, the blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick, has spread from the Northeast and Midwest into the South and Great Plains, and it has brought Lyme disease with it.

Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station tick researcher Scott Williams said in a recent AP article, “Winters are no longer limiting the tick population.”

According to Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) prevalence data, Vermont is seeing the highest incidence of Lyme disease so far this year, with 12.89% of tests coming back positive. And, while that is a decline from 2023’s 13.17% positive Lyme disease test rate, it is up from 2022’s 12.63%.

CAPC maps also show a steady increase in Lyme disease prevalence in Midwestern states like Illinois, which saw 2.06% of Lyme tests come back positive in 2022, compared to 2.23% in 2023 and 2.65% so far in 2024. In Florida, 0.84% of Lyme tests have been positive so far this year, up from 0.66% in 2022 and 0.69% in 2023.

Vetsource data shows that for the past 12 months:

• The average parasiticide-purchasing patients per practice are down 4.8%.
• The average months of protection per practice are down 7%.
• On average, canines that purchase tick protection from their veterinarian get 7.5 months of protection, but only about 35% of patients purchase from their veterinarian.

To combat tick-borne diseases, the veterinary industry must educate pet owners and encourage year-round parasitic protection.

 

Check out the Veterinary Industry Tracker for daily stats.

 

 

+2.1% Revenue YoY (Last Week)

-3.4% Visits YoY (Last Week)

 

 

Veterinary industry year-over-year revenue was 2.1% last week, a slight increase from the previous week’s 2.0%. And while year-over-year visits remained in negative territory at -3.4%, they also improved slightly from the prior week’s -3.8%.

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-8.3% Heartworm YoY

-8.2% Flea/Tick YoY

 

 

+3.8% Services YoY

-2.9% Products YoY

 

 

Year-over-year parasiticide protection also gained ground last week compared to the previous week. Heartworm and flea/tick protection improved from -9.5% and -10.9% to -8.3% and -8.2% respectively. Year-over-year revenue from services was 3.8% last week, a slight drop from the previous week’s 4.0%, while revenue from products improved to -2.9% from -3.8% the week prior.

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+4.9% Revenue YoY (Last 12 Months)

-2.1% Visits YoY (Last 12 Months)

 

 

The rolling 14-day trendline shows revenue and visits dipping since mid-May.

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5,479 Practices

2.1M Revenue per Practice (Last 12 Months)

10.5K Visits per Practice (Last 12 Months)

 

 

Colorado and New York again enjoyed the highest year-over-year revenue growth last week, with both states coming in at 7.9%. Iowa and North Carolina were the only states to experience positive year-over-year growth in visits at 0.3% and 0.1% respectively.

*Numbers are subject to change based on data availability and PIMS adjustments.

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