Dogs raise risk of Lyme disease
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Whether you're a Chihuahua lover, Staffy freak or adore your Great Dane, having a pet can bring happiness to your home and even, some studies have suggested, be good for your health.
Unfortunately for pooches, a new study has found having a dog can increase the risk of a nasty illness called Lyme disease.
The condition is spread by ticks which bite the skin (they present as a bull's eye type of rash) and can cause flu-like symptoms, tiredness and joint pain. If it is not treated, the infection can spread to the brain, leading to paralysis and blindness.
Researchers at Bristol University randomly checked 3,500 dogs who were brought into vets around the country from March to October.
They found 14.9% of the dogs had ticks and 2.3% of the ticks were infected with Lyme disease.
Previous estimates had put the figure of infected ticks on dogs at just 0.5%.
Faith Smith, who led the research, said: "Lyme disease appears to be a rapidly growing problem in the UK with important health and economic impacts in terms of loss of working hours and potential decrease in tourism to tick hotspots."
"Without considerably better surveillance and routine diagnostic testing, Lyme disease is only likely to become more prevalent.
A spokeswoman from the Health Protection Agency said pet owners should brush off clothes and pets' fur after they had been for a walk to prevent ticks returning inside.
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