Warning to dog walkers

I am so concerned to hear about the rise of Alabama rot!

It is an increasingly common disease in dogs which causes 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.

A brief history of the disease

The first reports of Alabama rot came from the US state of Alabama in the 1980s. At the time only greyhounds were affected, but it’s now known that many breeds can contract the disease.

Alabama rot is a relatively new disease to the UK, having been first reported here in 2012. There have been only 153 confirmed cases between November 2012 and March 2018.

The majority of cases come from England, but the disease has also been confirmed in the rest of the UK.

Is my dog at risk?

With only 153 confirmed cases of Alabama rot in the UK as of March 2018, the risk of your dog getting the disease is small.

However, because the cause of the disease remains unknown, every dog is potentially at risk.

There do appear to be some factors that could increase the risk to your dog. Cases of Alabama rot are most common in Dorset, the New Forest, Wiltshire, Sussex and Surrey. There’s also a suggestion that a degree of seasonality applies to the disease, usually occurring in the winter and spring.

There have also been reports linking the disease to dogs who were walked in muddy or woodland areas.

Please take care out there.