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WORRYING RISE IN DOG DISEASE
DOG owners are being warned to be on their guard after a huge increase in cases of an infectious skin disease which is caught from foxes.
Vet Tim Murphy, of the Town and Country Veterinary Centre in town, said there has been an explosion in the number of cases of fox mange passing to dogs in recent months.
Mr Murphy, who joined the Northampton Road practice in 1991, said: "There's been an enormous rise in the number of mange cases in dogs. We're seeing a couple of cases a week at the moment, compared to maybe one or two a couple of years ago.
"The problem corresponds with the rise in the number of foxes in urban areas. More people are feeding them and it encourages the foxes to come into urban areas. There's been a population explosion."
Fox mange, the correct term for which is sarcoptic mange, is a contagious skin condition caused by small parasitic mites which invade the skin of foxes, causing severe itching, hair loss and - if left untreated - death.
Foxes with the condition often act abnormally, walking around during daylight hours, constantly scratching and biting at the irritation.
Mr Murphy said: "They will itch all the time so they stop behaving normally. They usually die from secondary infections caused by scratching.
"The fox leaves skin behind and dogs can pick up the infection. They don't have to come in direct contact with the fox. We're even seeing really small breeds of dog with mange."
Dog owner Red Williams (52), of Spinney Close, Harborough, said his border collies Rio (14) and 18-month-old Izzy picked up mange a few weeks ago.
The dad-of-three told the Mail: "Rio had a bit of mange on one of her legs. It was really chaffed and she was scratching all the time. Then Izzy started to scratch too. I've never seen any foxes in the garden but I take the dogs out in the fields running a lot and there are obviously foxes around."
The dogs were given steroid injections and a liquid medication which Mr Williams administers at home in droplet form along the dogs' backs.
"It's an evil condition and it quickly spreads," said Mr Williams.
"But they're starting to improve now. Its expensive to treat through - the last lot cost us 100."
Vet Nigel Jacklin, of Ash Tree Veterinary Practice, which has centres in Harborough, Kibworth, Desborough and Rothwell, said he had seen a rise in mange cases in dogs earlier this year.
"In April/May time I saw at least one case a week for about five weeks, which is quite a lot more than normal," he told the Mail.
Tracy Cook, who runs the Jerry Green Dog Rescue Centre in Brixworth, said she had not noticed a rise in cases at their centre but added they had taken in two dogs with the infection in the last two months.
She said: "It usually affects dogs with a low immune system, so strays who are walking around fields and in hedges are more likely to get it."
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Weather for Market Harborough
Thursday 17 May 2012
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