PETS are normally sheltered from the environment鈥檚 harsh realities. But across Europe, rising temperatures due to global warming will expose pets to infectious diseases spread by ticks, fleas and flies, warns new research published in a special issue of .
Tick populations are increasing thanks to climate change, and shorter, milder winters mean they are becoming active all year round. The European dog tick (Dermacentor reticulatus) is moving northwards, transmitting canine babesiosis into countries where it was once rare, including Belgium, Poland and Germany. Meanwhile higher densities of Ixodes ticks are increasing the risk of horses and dogs picking up tick-borne encephalitis.
Another study warns of a notable reservoir of leishmaniasis in dogs in southern Britain, acquired from travelling to the Mediterranean area, where the parasite is endemic. If climate change allows the sandfly vector to colonise the UK there is a real danger the disease could spread, say Susan Shaw and colleagues at the University of Bristol, UK ().
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