Exotic tick-borne disease ehrlichiosis killing ‘thousands’ of dogs across the NT: Vets
NT vets are raising the alarm over a fatal canine disease that they say has killed thousands of dogs in the Territory in the past year and could kill many more if it continues to spread at its current rate.
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NT vets are raising the alarm over a fatal canine disease that they say has killed thousands of dogs in the Territory in the past year and could kill many more if it continues to spread at its current rate.
Ehrlichiosis, a disease caused by bacteria spread by the common brown tick, has become established in the NT, WA and SA since it was first detected in Australia in Kununurra in May 2020, and there have also been suspected cases in Queensland.
Vets say the disease has now become “endemic” in the NT and is killing dogs across the Territory at an alarming rate, especially in the past few months.
Outback and Airborne Veterinary Services vet Campbell Costello, who has recently worked in East Arnhem and central parts of the NT, said ehrlichiosis case numbers had “exploded” in the Territory in the past 12 months, with devastating consequences.
“At the moment, 80 per cent of the dogs I see (with the disease) are dying,” he said.
“There must have been thousands, even tens of thousands, of dog deaths.
“It only takes up to an hour for dogs to get infected, and death can happen in 24 hours or less.
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“And it’s affecting dogs of all kinds, including ones from big capital cities.”
He said with no vaccine available, and some dogs prone to relapsing after receiving antibiotic treatment, the best way owners could protect their dogs was by using tick repellents and tick prevention collars and chews.
NT Veterinary Services managing director and senior vet Alex Burleigh said he had seen hundreds of ehrlichiosis cases across his clinics in Katherine, Alice Springs and a number of remote communities in the past year.
He urged dog owners to take the threat seriously and ensure they took steps to prevent their pets from contracting the disease.
“I’ve never seen a disease this devastating and that spreads so rapidly,” he said.
“We do have other tick diseases here (in the NT), and they sometimes do kill dogs, but we haven’t had anything nearly as bad as what this one is. This is very different.”
Mr Burleigh said while the disease had spread throughout the NT, it was having a particularly severe impact on dog populations in remote communities, where there are more brown ticks than in urban areas.
Ehrlichiosis symptoms include fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, weight loss, swelling, cloudy eyes or conjunctivitis, pain and stiffness and bleeding disorders such as nosebleeds.
The NT government has a current disease alert out.
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