🚀 go-pugleaf

"Fenris Wolf" <Fenris@reality8.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:kqbqXXAnaypAFwUH@reality8.demon.co.uk...
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/16/npet16.x
> ml&amp;sSheet=/news/2004/05/16/ixhome.html
>
>
> Pet passports lead to surge in dogs dying from foreign diseases
> By David Harrison and Rosie Dunn
> (Filed: 16/05/2004)
>
> A growing number of British pets are catching deadly diseases on foreign
> holidays as more animals travel with their owners on the "pets'
> passports" scheme introduced four years ago.
>
> The School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool said that reported cases of
> some animal diseases picked up on holiday had doubled since 2002.
>
> Last year 37 pet dogs - almost half of the 84 tested at the school -
> were found to have leishmaniasis, an incurable disease passed on by
> sandflies in Mediterranean countries.
>
> The figure is more than double the 17 dogs that caught the disease on
> holidays in 2002. Symptoms include weight loss, eye disease and kidney
> failure.
>
> Other diseases that have shown increases of about 100 per cent include
> babesiosis and ehrlichiosis - blood diseases spread by ticks - and
> heartworm, a parasite passed on by mosquitoes.
>
> Brian and Jean Coleman, from Tyneside, were shocked and heartbroken when
> Hamie, their much-loved West Highland White terrier, died after
> contracting babesiosis when they were on holiday recently in south-west
> France.
>
> "He was only 16 months old and had brought so much joy into our lives,"
> said Mr Coleman, 55, a retired teacher.
>
> Hamie was "perfectly fit and healthy" last month when the Colemans left
> to spend the Easter holidays at their cottage in the Dordogne.
>
> The dog became seriously ill, however, shortly after the family returned
> home to South Shields and, after developing distressing symptoms, was
> taken to a vet and put on a respirator.
>
> "We knew Hamie couldn't go on like that and that we had to tell the vet
> to stop the respirator," Mr Coleman said.
>
> "It was awful. I never thought we would lose our little friend in such a
> terrible way. We were shattered by his death."
>
> Vets estimate that about 300 dogs nationally were known to have caught
> diseases abroad last year. They fear that many more cases go undiagnosed
> or unreported.
>
> As millions of Britons prepare to fly abroad for their summer holidays,
> Dr Jackie Barber - a veterinary parasitologist - warned pet owners that
> they should be aware of the risks.
>
> "It is heartbreaking for owners when their pets catch these diseases
> and, in many cases, die. People must realise that it is a very real
> threat."
>
> Babesiosis, which has claimed the lives of at least two dogs since the
> Easter holidays, can kill pets within days, while other diseases have
> incubation periods of months or years.
>
> Dr Susan Shaw, a senior lecturer in veterinary science at Bristol
> university, said: "Animals have no immunity to the infections and there
> are no vaccinations. It is crucial that pet owners use preventative
> measures, such as repellents to stop the insects biting and spreading
> the disease."
>
> The situation is made worse by the fact that many British vets are
> unfamiliar with the diseases. Most vets refer the pets to tropical
> medicine schools, sending blood samples for analysis.
>
> Doctors fear that the diseases could be passed on to other animals back
> in Britain - and possibly to humans, although there is no evidence that
> this has happened.
>
> Most of the exotic diseases are picked up on beaches and in woods and
> gardens in Mediterranean countries including France, Spain, Italy and
> Greece.
>
> Dr Barber said: "We don't associate Europe with tropical diseases in
> humans, but for animals it is as if they were travelling to somewhere
> like Africa."
>
> The School of Tropical Medicine, which mainly treats human diseases but
> works closely with Liverpool University's veterinary department, has set
> up a diagnostic scheme, Testapet, to help vets to detect the exotic
> diseases.
>
> The Government's passport for pets scheme was set up in 2000 to allow
> animals to travel to Europe when their owners went on holiday. The
> scheme has been extended to cover North America and up to 150,000 pets
> are expected to travel abroad this year.
>
> Sandy Trees, a professor of veterinary parasitology at Liverpool
> University, said that owners should ask themselves whether they really
> needed to take their pets abroad.
>
> A spokesman for the British Small Animals Veterinary Association said:
> "It is vital that pets are checked as soon as they come back to Britain
> if they show any signs of sickness."
>
> British dogs are particularly susceptible to babesiosis because, having
> never encountered the disease, they have no resistance to it and can die
> within days of the symptoms appearing.
>
> "I'd never heard of it and I was shocked when I did some research into
> it," Mr Coleman said. "If we had known about this we would never have
> taken Hamie to France.
>
> "I hope our terrible experience can serve as a warning to other pet
> owners: if you are thinking of taking your dog abroad, don't."
>
 This is simply scare mongering IMO. There is no clue as to what percentage
the numbers represent.