LEISHMANIASIS

Teramo happens to have one of the major research centres into this disease and they are collecting data all the time and also using holistic preventative methods... against the disease... however reading further it also seems that when the disease becomes endemic in an area cats also can catch it... and there is research going on about the amount of disease in the stray cat population.... not being a cat owner i know very little on how to prevent or the treatments...there is a fair amount of info around on the net and if you happen to live in one of the endemic areas with felines might well be worth having a look to see what the latest research says

Thank you so much, John. It is particularly worrying to see the spread of the disease. I always thought that it was more confined to the south; however, I can see through the map that there are already some spots in Tuscany and near us. I will certainly get the collar.As for stray cats, unfortunately they quickly spread any diseases. Being an animal lover and having given a home to a few stray cats, I hate to see how these animals are so easily abandoned to their fate.An extra "grazie" from "Tequila"

We would recommend these collars. The also protect against ticks

We use Advocate for "Tequila" against fleas, ticks and other parasites. It is great not to have to torture her with a tablet, which she refuses to take. It also prevents and treats dermatitis; however, it does not protect against leishmaniasis.

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but....... My beloved Border Collie, Cassie, contracted Leishmaniasis in France despite my taking every precaution. We purchased a Scalibor collar which Cassie wore 2 weeks before leaving for France in 2007. She developed lesions on one leg in early 2008 which a British vet thought was mange. It was spotted by a French vet in 2008 and a test confirmed leishmaniasis. Cassie accepted with good grace a gruelling course of injections and tablets but then she went down with lymphoma and after an even more gruelling course of chemotherapy she had finally to be given "sleep". I have tears in my eyes as I write this, but please be aware that the Scalibor collar does not offer 100% protection, as the French vet admitted.I have now had to revise any thoughts of living permanently anywhere near the Mediterranean. In fact, I don't think I shall ever take a dog outside the UK again. I feel very guilty and I urge all list members to inform themselves as fully as possible about this dreadful disease. Ben Fogle, the British TV wild-life, countryside presenter caught it in the Amazonian jungle [Peru], I believe, and has had to undergo unpleasant treatment. It can never be completely cured, as I understand it.

not much i can say.... as your french vet said nothing is 100 % but the collar does offer a form of protection against the parasite...i would not feel guilty ... however... we all make choices and you can never know if one action will lead to another or not... the Med area is just a loose term as regards the endemic areas and really is to do with climate... we live near the Adriatic...and it also has the same problem... however... we also live up high away from the coast and during the season this means there is a very low risk of our dogs getting bitten... my advice would be not to visit coastal areas with animals during the times when the fly is active... my understanding is that human cases in Europe at least are very rare... however anyone with a problem with Aids is advised to be very careful.... i presume because their immune system puts them more at risk... and as regards the treatment that early ... very early spotting of the disease allows not a cure but the possibility after the initial treatment for the disease to be controlled... by medicationall the above is no comfort ... i do appreciate you telling us of your story and how hard it is to write these things down as it pulls the memories back of what Cassie had to go through... maybe it will help people realize that the choice of travelling with your pet outside the UK is one to think carefully over and save someone from going through what you and Cassie had to endurethank you

I had a dog that was "diagnosed" with this horrendous disease when he was about 14 months old - and my vet at the time said he would die if I did not give him two injections a day of some awful stuff that burned as it went it (and that there was no alternative treatment)...as even the vet couldn't manage to give him the injection I was desperate. I spent a couple of days on internet exploring atlternative treatments, and eventually came across the name "Stormogyl" (or something like that). My vet refused to use it, so I spent a couple of hours on the phone to find another vet who would. When I took the dog in to see him he queried why I thought the dog needed to be treated - in his opinion the blood test was not definitive - barely positive - and so ordered a second (which did in fact confirm he was clear). He then examined the dog and determined he had tonsilitis! So...do bear in mind that if the blood test is not decidedly positive, it is worth retesting. That said - my vet would have treated him with Stormogyl plus another tablet -(the name of which I can't remember) which he said was as effective as the injections - he and his practice had been part of the network of vets who had trialled it. There is no cure - but if caught in time, it can certainly be treated.