Owners of imported dogs should wash their hands every time they touch they their pet, health chiefs urged today.

The advice comes after three Brits were struck down with a bug usually confined to canines from the likes of Romania, Serbia and Bosnia.

There are no signs that Brucella canis (B. canis) is spreading between people and the risk of people becoming infected is ‘very low’, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

However, Brits who own imported dogs are at a higher risk of catching the infection through contact with their pet’s reproductive fluid, blood or urine.

They should wash their hands ‘after any interaction’ with their dog and ‘may wish to consider’ wearing gloves, goggles and a face mask when touching their pet, it said. 

The UKHSA also published a list of the tell-tale signs of the infection in people, which includes a fever, headaches and sweating. 

The UKHSA published a list of the tell-tale signs of the infection in people, which includes a fever, headaches and sweating, as well as a loss of appetite and weight loss

The UKHSA published a list of the tell-tale signs of the infection in people, which includes a fever, headaches and sweating, as well as a loss of appetite and weight loss

In dogs, B. canis can cause infertility and miscarriages, as well as tiredness, swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin, as well as back or joint problems

In dogs, B. canis can cause infertility and miscarriages, as well as tiredness, swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin, as well as back or joint problems

A loss of appetite, weight loss and tiredness, as well as back and joint pain may also be signs, according to the UKHSA.

However, it noted that those who are infected don’t always immediately develop symptoms — and it can take weeks or years for them to show up.

Its advice also urged all Brits to minimise contact with dogs’ reproductive fluids, blood and urine — regardless of whether it is imported or not — and to wash hands using hot water and soap for at least 20 seconds if they have contact with these products.

It noted that people who are immunosuppressed, young children and pregnant women may be at higher risk of developing symptoms and severe illness.

While B. canis is ‘rarely fatal’ in humans and most people make a full recovery with antibiotics, if it is not treated it can lead to inflammation of the lining of the heart, called endocarditis. 

It can also trigger meningitis — swelling in the protective membrane around the brain and spinal cord. 

The UKHSA urged those who feel unwell and have had contact with an infected dog — especially its birthing products, such as reproductive secretions — to contact their GP or NHS 111.

A blood test, which is sent to a lab for specialist testing, spots whether a person is infected. Those who have the bug are usually treated with antibiotics. 

B. canis is an incurable disease in dogs and only infects humans in rare cases.

Some 91 dogs have tested positive for the infection in the first half of the year, while only three cases had ever been spotted in the UK pre-2020, according to the UKHSA.

All dogs who have tested positive in the UK were either imported from Eastern Europe — where the infection is endemic— had had contact with the birthing products of an imported dog or are its puppies, the UKHSA said.

Officials last week confirmed that the infection was spreading between dogs in the UK through breeding in kennels.

It comes after a surge of dog imports to the UK, which experts blamed on lockdown. Dogs from Romania alone leapt by two-thirds during the first year of the pandemic.

The RSPCA warns that imported dogs are often bred in poor conditions on a puppy farm before being taken away from their mothers when just a few weeks old and transported to the UK — with Brits often assuming they are buying a much-loved family-bred dog.

In dogs, B. canis can cause infertility and miscarriages, as well as tiredness, swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin, as well as back or joint problems.

Lateral flow tests and blood samples can be used to confirm an infection in dogs. 

While B. canis rarely kills canines, there is no treatment for the infection. 

Instead, vets advise on how to manage the infection, which can include neutering, limiting its contact with other dogs and putting it down. 

Testing in dogs has skyrocketed in the UK with 5,773 carried out in the first six months of this year, compared to just 1,332 in 2018

Testing in dogs has skyrocketed in the UK with 5,773 carried out in the first six months of this year, compared to just 1,332 in 2018

Wendy Hayes (pictured), from Stroke-on-Trent, caught the B. canis from a pregnant rescue dog called Moosha, from Belarus, which she was fostering

Wendy Hayes (pictured), from Stroke-on-Trent, caught the B. canis from a pregnant rescue dog called Moosha, from Belarus, which she was fostering

While Ms Hayes was treated with antibiotics, all five of her dogs were put down to stop the infection from spreading

While Ms Hayes was treated with antibiotics, all five of her dogs were put down to stop the infection from spreading

Three human cases have been detected in the UK, with the first spotted in August 2022. 

Wendy Hayes, from Stroke-on-Trent, caught B. canis from a pregnant rescue dog called Moosha, from Belarus, which she was fostering. 

Moosha was taken into a Government quarantine facility due to problems with her paperwork and soon afterwards, the 61-year-old reported suffering from a fever, severe headaches and a sore back.

Tests confirmed both Ms Hayes and Moosha were infected with B. canis.

While Ms Hayes was treated with antibiotics, all five of her dogs were put down to stop the infection from spreading.

Two more humans cases were detected this year.

The first was identified in hospital, while the second worked at a vet and was spotted as part of routine contact tracing after an infection was detected in a dog. 

No cases of human-to-human transmission have been spotted in the UK — a phenomenon which the UKHSA said is ‘very rare’.

But it warned that people who own imported dogs, breeders of imported dogs and vets are at higher risk of becoming infected with B. canis than the rest of the population.   

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Post source: Daily mail