Seasonal Canine Illness

[angieh]

This potentially killer disease has been flagged up on another forum I belong to.

" ...... the Animal Health Trust's investigation into seasonal canine illness (SCI) will feature on BBC's Countryfile this Sunday 21 October, with the programme on air from 18:20.

As part of his 'Investigates...' series, Tom Heap speaks with Dr. Richard Newton who is spearheading the AHT's investigation into SCI. Tom will also report from woodlands where suspected cases of SCI have recently been reported. If you are a dog owner who is still unsure about what SCI is, what the clinical signs are and how you can help our investigation into this mystery illness, please watch this episode."

[Velvet]

Did you watch it and what did you think of it?

[angieh]

An interesting item on Countryfile, even if it only increases awareness of this illness. I thought it was balanced, it stressed that whilst harvest mites are the prime suspect at the moment, it is nowhere near being confirmed. Also, it did not try to get people to panic and not take their dogs for walks in wooded areas, stressing the small number of dogs seemingly affected. However, on the other dog forum I belong to, there do seem to have been a significant number of dogs affected by "a stomach bug" that is sometimes being diagnosed as colitis. Whether those diagnoses are correct and whether SCI is in any way involved of course cannot be ascertained.