Tick borne diseases

At the present time, the risk of your pet picking up any disease from ticks in the London area is still  low.  Lyme disease can be spread to pets and people from ticks, but we have not seen any cases of pets picking up this disease whilst living in the London area to date. However we are aware that Lyme disease may be present in ticks in Richmond park,  and may be present in other parks particularly where deer are present, and so we do recommend tick treatments in these areas.

• A new tick borne disease called Babesiosis which uptil now had not been found in the UK,  has recently been reported to have been found in four dogs in Harlow, Essex  that had not travelled abroad.  It can cause a severe anaemia, which can be fatal. The risk of picking up any disease in the London area remains very low at the present time, but we will monitor for any changes in the situation, and will post again if this changes.

• If you see a tick on your pet- we suggest removing them with an O’Tom tick twister which you can purchase from the surgery, which slides under the body of the tick and by twisting causes the tick to release its grasp on the skin. You should not pull them out with tweezers as this can leave the head in the skin which may cause a reaction. If you would like to use other tick prevention/ killing products with or without Advocate or Stronghold, the most effective options are the Seresto collar for cats and dogs lasting 7 months, Bravecto tablet lasting 2-3 months for dogs only , or Advantix spot on monthly for dogs.
  

O’Tom Tick twister