Dog owners are being warned about a potentially fatal parasite that has been spotted across Scotland.
Lungworm cases have been recorded up and down the country with hotspots including Glasgow into Loch Lomond and the Trossachs and the inner Hebrides.
The parasite lives among slugs and snails and can require immediate veterinary assistance.
Dogs are affected when eating the slugs and snails and ingest the lungworm larvae.
A new interactive map, produced by Elanco, shows where lungworm has been reported across the UK.
There were more than 53 reported cases of Lungworm within a 50-mile radius of Glasgow.
Meanwhile, there were 40 sightings within the same radius of Edinburgh and 51 cases within a 50-mile radius in Ayrshire.
You can view the map and look up your postcode here.
What is lungworm?
The map has been created due to the seriousness lungworm can present if not treated in a timely manner.
Officially known as Angiostrongylus vasorum, the parasite can cause severe illness among dogs, eventually leading to death if not caught in time.
The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) has said that despite its name, the parasite travels around the whole body and cause breathing difficulties, heart failure, seizures and bleeding disorders.
What are the symptoms of lungworm?
The PDSA has release a list of symptoms that dog owners should look out for if they think that their dogs has come into contact with or eaten a slug or snail.
These symptoms can apparently be difficult to spot because they are often very vague and varied, but the common symptoms are said to the following:
- Coughing
- Breathing problems (fast, heavy, noisy)
- Weight loss
- Unexplained bruising and bleeding
- Seizures
- Collapse and shock
- Blindness
What should you do?
Vets across the country say that dog owners should contact their local practice immediately if their dog shows any lungworm symptoms.
Treatment for lungworm depends on the severity of the infection and what symptoms your dog might be experiencing, the PDSA said.
It also said that vets will tend to kill the lungworm at the first opportunity and certain cases may require hospitalisation.
The PSDA added: "Mild lungworm infections often only require lungworm treatment and medication to go home with, but if your dog is seriously ill, they may need intensive care in the veterinary hospital."
How can I protect my dog from lungworm?
You can take steps to prevent lungworm with a range of de-worming products, which include protection against the parasite, according to the PDSA.
It goes on to say that dog owners should purchase de-worming treatment that are a veterinary licenced product as they offer more effective ingredients.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here