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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/16/npet16.x
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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."





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