Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
EmailIphone Application    Posted: 5th April 2019
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.
Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Vets confirm dog-to-dog transmission of leishmaniosis
Bone marrow cytology showing macrophages with numerous intracellular organisms consistent with Leishmania species amastigotes.

Dog with no travel history thought to have contacted disease from imported dog 

Vets say they have diagnosed the first case of dog-to-dog transmission of leishmaniosis in a UK dog with no history of foreign travel.

The team are warning owners and vets to be extra vigilant for possible cases of the disease, even in dogs without a direct travel history.

According to a paper published in Vet Record, a three-year-old shih tzu was diagnosed with leishmaniosis after presenting with a three-week history of weight loss, seborrhoea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

While the dog had not travelled abroad, received a blood transfusion or been used for breeding, it had lived with another dog that was imported from Spain and euthanised six months previously due to severe leishmaniosis. Researchers said this most likely represents a case of dog-to-dog transmission.

Myles McKenna, of the Royal Veterinary College, said: “It is important to take note of this first reported case of likely dog-to-dog transmission of Leishmania infantum in the UK. Historically we had considered this to be a condition affecting dogs with a travel history to areas where Leishmania infantum is endemic.

“Dog-to-dog transmission in non-endemic areas has previously been reported, for example in the USA, but this case serves as a reminder to UK veterinary surgeons that we must be vigilant for conditions such as Leishmania in non-travelled dogs and that alternative transmission mechanisms do exist.”

The news comes just a week after vets reported a separate case of leishmaniosis in a dog with no history of overseas travel. In this case, it is thought the owners may have inadvertently brought infected sand flies back in their luggage following a trip to Spain.

Reporting the case in Vet Record letters, ESCCAP’s Ian Wright and Samantha Baker of Vets4Pets said: ‘It serves as a reminder that we should not be complacent about the risk of Leishmania infantum establishing in the UK, even in the current absence of the sand fly vector.’

Image © Charalampos Attipa

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
UK's BSE risk status downgraded

The WOAH has downgraded the UK's international risk status for BSE to 'negligible'.

Defra says that the UK's improved risk status recognises the reputation for having the highest standards for biosecurity. It adds that it demonstrates decades of rigorous animal control.

Outbreaks of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, have previously resulted in bans on Britain's beef exports.

The UK's new status could lead to expanded trade and better confidence in British beef.

Christine Middlemiss, the UK's chief veterinary officer, said: "WOAH's recognition of the UK as negligible risk for BSE is a significant milestone and is a testament to the UK's strong biosecurity measures and the hard work and vigilance of farmers and livestock keepers across the country who have all played their part in managing the spread of this disease.