Almost a third of dogs checked at random across the UK were found to be carrying a tick, researchers said on Friday after carrying out the largest survey of ticks in dogs.
Researchers also found that the risk of an animal picking up a tick is as great in urban areas as in rural ones. Ticks can carry a range of diseases including lyme disease, and also a parasite discovered in the UK for the first time earlier this year that is potentially fatal to dogs, the BBC reported.
lyme disease has the potential to cause serious health problems, such as meningitis and heart failure. In the most serious cases, it can be fatal. Almost 15,000 dogs from across the UK were examined in the study, which was carried out by Bristol University last year, the report said.
Just under a third (31 per cent) of these dogs checked at random during a visit to the vet were found to be carrying a tick. The researchers found that the arachnids are present right across the UK, with the highest risk areas being Scotland, East Anglia and the South West. There can be just as many in urban areas as in rural areas.
The species, life-cycle stage, sex and location of origin and whether it was carrying any pathogens were recorded.