Something else for us all to start worrying about, but thankfully the dogs have made a recovery. I've never been able to understand the rationale of not requiring tick treatment before entering the country but requiring worming for dogs and cats require neither treatment. My concern with the report is that there is no mention as to whether the affected dogs were regularly treated for fleas and ticks and became infected or not routinely treated by their owner.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/212605-overview#a7 This link explains a bit more about babesiosis. The article is slanted towards the U.S. and is more concerned about the human danger but babesiosis has apparently been in the UK since 1957. Dismaying is how different strains in different areas target different predominant hosts and carriers and have differing levels of severity. TRavel by humans and importation of affected animals (cattle for one) are aids to spreading it but for us in Canada it seems global warming and the spread of ticks carrying the associated Lyme disease is also a factor which makes it worse. Strangely it seems the threat of human death is more serious in Europe
This is worrying, as a high percentage of dogs from overseas have large numbers of ticks attached, and their attitude towards this is considered normal. Indeed I have myself contracted Lymes disease last October, and the effects were horrid. I am increasingly concerned about the condition of dogs entering the county, and how they are getting through medical customs. I have already voiced my concerns and they are being investigated.
This is awful It's all well and good visiting dogs and I would think particularly rescue dogs coming in from overseas but they must have all the relevant medical checks done in order to keep our dogs safe from such life threatening diseases. It makes me really cross. Good for you Kate voicing your concerns. x
Do you suppose it's likely that dogs coming into the country are the main problem? I don't know, I haven't search for any stats. I would have thought possibly imported livestock might be the bigger risk. That plus warmer winters....
Did you read the link I put up? It can come in on cattle or for us in Canada with native deer from the U.S. And people of course. The link doesn't say which brings more.
