Slugs, Snails And Puppy Dogs Tails! Be Lungworm Aware

Recent research¹ conducted by Bayer Animal Health, manufacturer of Advocate, has revealed some interesting insights into dog owners’ understanding of the potentially fatal lungworm, Angiostrongylus vasorum. Despite awareness being fairly high with nearly half of owners claiming to know about the condition, 84% of this group did not know any of the clinical signs associated with the infection, while only 60% were aware that the disease could be fatal if left untreated. Understanding of how dogs become infected was also relatively low with only 24% of owners recognising the role of slugs and snails as the intermediate host for the parasite. As well as playing a vital role in alerting owners to the emergence of the disease, the veterinary practice was cited as the primary source of information that owners would refer to if they needed advice on treating this parasite. “Angiostrongylus vasorum appears to be continuing its spread to new locations in the UK,” comments Eric Morgan from the University of Bristol. “It is therefore important that dog owners are educated on the infection and the signs to look out for, to enable them to seek treatment before it is too late.” Bayer Animal Health is again running its ‘Be Lungworm Aware’ campaign to help raise awareness of Angiostrongylus vasorum amongst dog owners and support the veterinary practice as a source of further information. The initiative will be backed by a national TV and print advertising campaign. Media vet, Joe Inglis, will also be supporting the initiative and will be talking about Angiostrongylus vasorum during a series of radio and web broadcasts. Bayer Animal Health has produced new support material, including an updated lungworm PR pack, containing useful information such as an easy to issue press release. The materials are designed to allow veterinary practices to educate owners on the disease, whilst helping to raise the profile of the practice in the local community. For further details, or to order the new practice materials, please contact your Bayer representative or ring 0845 2574798 quoting ‘Be Lungworm Aware’.

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