Alabama Rot UK map: Manchester, London, Somerset - where has disease broken out in 2019?
ALABAMA rot is spreading across the UK, with cases reported in the New Forest, London and Manchester, but where have cases broken out in 2019?
Alabama rot: The Kennel Club reveal symptoms of dog disease
The disease first came to the UK in 2012 and since then 200 dogs have been killed by Alabama rot. In 2018 alone 50 dogs died in the UK, according to the Alabama Rot Research Fund. It is not known how many dogs have died from Alabama rot so far in 2019.
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The disease is also known as Cutaneous and Renal Glomerular Vasculopathy and is increasingly common in dogs, causing damage to the blood vessels of the skin and kidneys.
Dogs with the disease can suffer from skin ulcers, acute kidney failure and even death.
The flesh-eating bugs can thrive in the cold weather and in muddy conditions.
Only 30 percent of dogs can survive the diagnosis, according to Vets2Pets.
Fiona MacDonald, a New Forest vet, told the Sunday Times: “Many of the infected dogs had been walked in muddy fields and woodlands.”
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club secretary said: “Although the disease is very rare, affecting an extremely low percentage of dogs in the UK, the condition is very serious and potentially life-threatening.
“It is therefore vital that owners understand and recognise the warning signs, especially as time plays a significant part in successfully treating the disease.”
Symptoms of Alabama rot include skin lesions, often with swelling or a patch of red skin that can open and become an ulcer.
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The patches of inflamed skin are commonly found on paws, lower legs, face, mouth, tongue and the lower body.
Signs of kidney failure include a lack of appetite, being sick and tiredness.
The skin sores and signs of kidney failure could be caused by other, more common problems and may not indicate Alabama rot.
But Ms Kisko said “acting quickly and speaking to a vet to determine what is wrong is the best course of action to protect your pet’s health.”
If your dog has walked somewhere muddy, they should be hosed down with cold water.
She said: “They won’t like it, but it might save them.”
The first cases of Alabama rot were reported in the US state of Alabama in the 1980s.
At the time only greyhounds were affected but others breeds have contracted the disease.
These include Labradors, English Spring Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, Border Collies, Flat-coated Retrievers, Whippets and Hungarian Vizlas.
