Hitching a ride: pet travel and tick risks since this year's rule changes
Eric Morgan
Thursday, March 1, 2012
On 1st January 2012, the rules for pet travel into the UK changed. Most notably, the requirement to treat against ticks on (re-)entry was removed. In this article, the authors consider what this might mean in terms of the risks of importing tick-borne diseases of importance to canine and human health, and how it should affect advice to clients in the UK planning to travel abroad with their dogs. The main tick species of concern is Rhipicephalus sanguineus, the brown dog or kennel tick and vector of Babesia vogeli, canine monocytic ehrlichiosis, hepatozoono-sis, and Mediterranen Spotted fever in humans. However, other ticks and diseases that are already endemic in the UK, especially Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus and the agent of Lyme borreliosis, also provide increasing cause for concern and should not be neglected when considering parasite control in dogs.
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