One third of all dogs have ticks, UK study finds

A massive effort to check dogs for ticks in the United Kingdom found about 1-in-3 of the British pets had been carrying a tick.

The endeavor, dubbed the Big Tick Project, also discovered that the risk of a dog having a tick is as high in cities as it is in rural areas.

The survey is particularly concerning given the fact that ticks can carry a variety of diseases including Lyme disease. Lyme disease can cause substantial health difficulties, like meningitis and heart failure. In the most extreme cases, it can be fatal.

Studying Dogs Across the UK

The study looked at 15,000 dogs from across the UK, which was performed last year by Bristol University. The researchers saw 31 percent dogs arbitrarily checked during a visit to the vet were transporting a tick.

The scientists learned that the arachnids can be found across the UK, with the highest risk areas being Scotland, the East Midlands and the southwest part of the country.

Starting in April 2015, project researchers asked partnering vets to look at dogs in their practice for each week and fill out a survey relating to the clinical background of each dog. For each dog the survey documented the species, age, sex, location and any pathogens found.

“The work that we have carried out shows that ticks are extremely widely dispersed,” Richard Wall, project leader from the University of Bristol, told BBC News. “The records that we have got appear to show that we have had an increase in tick numbers right across the country.

“What we are primarily concerned about is the diseases that ticks carry,” Wall added. “In the UK, we have relatively low rates of the prevalence of these pathogens at the moment and, in contrast, in continental Europe they have much higher rates of disease. As there seems to be a rise in tick numbers, we need to be concerned and be aware of the potential for increasing problems.”

Wall said pet owners should be aware of the heightened risk of picking up a tick in woodlands or areas of long grass, and added that dogs in urban areas also were seen carrying ticks.

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Image credit: Thinkstock

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