Plagues,
Pestilences and Diseases
Disease alert: New blood-sucking, disease spreading, tick
found in UK
A blood-thirsty tick normally found in continental Europe has been
discovered in Britain, putting animals and humans here at
increased risk of disease.
Metro News Service UK
The Dermacentor reticulates tick was discovered in south-east
England and west Wales in a study of dog infestations, and
scientists have warned that it may have brought new strains of
disease with it.
They are blaming climate change for driving the tick to these
shores.
Professor Richard Wall, head of the veterinary parasitology group
at Bristol University, which carried out the research, said: 'This
is an important study because the results suggest that the risk of
tick infestation is far higher in dogs than was previously
thought. This has serious implications for the incidence of
tick-borne disease.
'The study also confirms that a non-native species of tick, which
is also a major disease vector in Europe, is now established in
southern England.'
The research, published in the journal Medical and Veterinary
Entomology, found that 14.9 per cent of dogs were infested with
ticks at any one time.
Dog ticks can carry several different diseases, including Lyme
disease, which can pass to humans. If this goes untreated it can
damage the heart and nervous system.
The breeds of dog most susceptible to infestation are Gun dogs
such as retrievers, setters, spaniels, terriers and pastoral
varieties used to guard livestock. Ticks are more likely to be
found in long-haired dogs than short