Calls for Greater Vigilance Grow Worldwide as the Seventh Canine Vector-Borne Diseases (CVBD) World Forum Brings New Insights Into the Scale and Spread of CVBDs Around the World

Monheim, Germany (ots/PRNewswire) -

As part of its ongoing commitment to the scientific community,
Bayer Animal Health today marked their seventh year of support for
the CVBD World Forum (CVBD7) in Berlin, Germany; and this year's
meeting has again proven to be a landmark in the understanding of
CVBDs.

CVBDs present a real threat to the health of both pets and
humans, with an untold toll of suffering and death worldwide. The
data shared at this meeting highlighted the continuing need for
awareness-raising, particularly of the risk posed by vectors and of
the importance of surveillance and prevention in protecting pets and
owners from the impact of these potentially serious diseases.

The importance of surveillance was emphasised by the findings of
an Australian study from the group of Dr Rebecca Traub from the
University of Queensland, Australia. Their study found that in dogs
not receiving ectoparasite prevention treatment, one in three dogs
were infected with at least one CVBD, while one in ten were infected
with more than one CVBD. Dr Traub stressed that "The findings of this
study show that not only are CVBDs present much more frequently in
Australia than is often thought, they also reveal the importance of
dogs as potential reservoir for Rickettsia felis (the cause of
Flea-Borne Spotted Fever) and as a potential source of human
rickettsial infection. As a result, I would recommend that all
veterinarians and pet owners in Australia should consider
broad-ranging CVBD prevention as a key element of their animal's
health planning."

Away from the Australian experience, there were also a number of
noteworthy studies reporting data from across Europe. A study
presented by Prof. Luis Cardoso, University of Tras-os-Montes e Alto
Douro, Portugal demonstrated the presence of at least one CVBD in 14%
of apparently healthy dogs in Portugal and more than 45% of
CVBD-suspected dogs. Along with highlighting a remarkably high rate
of CVBD in superficially healthy dogs, this study also showed that
non-use of ectoparasiticides doubled their risk of CVBD infection.
Prof. Cardoso was clear on the implications of this research, "Our
study shows the very real risk posed by CVBDs, even in animals that
do not appear to be affected. The discovery that non-use of
ectoparasiticides doubled the risk of infection makes a very strong
case for all dogs to be routinely treated with ectoparasiticides in
order to minimise risks to the individual dog and the community as a
whole."

Understanding the prevalence of CVBDs is only part of the answer;
knowing the distribution of the arthropod vectors themselves is also
critical. Dr Gioia Capelli from the Istituto Zooprofilattico
Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro shared data from Italy that
emphasised the range of risks that can be posed by a vector. The
study looked at the pathogens carried by the tick species Ixodes
ricinus in 14 sites in north-eastern Italy. Eleven different
pathogens were found in the ticks investigated, including 4 genotypes
of Borrelia burgdorferi (17.6% of samples), Rickettsia helvetica
(13.1%) and R. monacensis (3.7%), candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis
(10.5%), Tick-borne encephalitis flavivirus (2.1%), Anaplasma
phagocytophilum (1.5%) and Bartonella spp. (1%). Furthermore, 22% of
ticks were co-infected by more than one pathogen.

Data presented by Prof. Guadalupe Miro, Universidad Complutense
de Madrid, Spain drew attention to the continuing geographical spread
of CVBDs and their vectors, reporting signs of Canine leishmaniosis
spreading to new, previously unaffected areas in the North of Spain,
accompanied with reports of the spread of sand-fly populations to new
areas.

The meeting also produced invaluable findings on the year-round
risk posed by ectoparasite vectors of CVBDs. Dr. Filipe Dantas-Torres
from the University of Bari, Italy, presented study findings showing
unexpectedly high survival rates of brown dog tick in Italy of up to
385 days between feeds, including exposure to winter conditions. It
may be necessary to reconsider the potential scale of impact of
climatic warming on tick population size and spread.

Prof. Edward Breitschwerdt from North Carolina State University,
USA discussed the implications of data presented at the meeting,
"Every year we see more and more data on the emerging importance and
spread of these serious diseases, which clearly supports the need for
year-round protection from all CVBDs. The data presented at CVBD7
further reinforces the message for veterinarians and for pet owners
that it is no longer appropriate to think of CVBDs as being a
predictable, seasonal threat regardless of where the pet and family
might live. Due to the chronicity of these infections, CVBDs can be
present anywhere, at any time, throughout the world. Most CVBDs are
very difficult to diagnose and difficult to cure with currently
available treatments. The best way to prevent vector borne diseases
in pets is to ensure they have year-round protection from all
ectoparasites. We know protecting pets isn't happening as widely and
as fully as it should. Therefore, I would like to take this
opportunity to ask all veterinarians to take this threat, and its
prevention, seriously, and take all appropriate actions to educate
their clients as to how to best protect the animals in their care."

Speaking at the closing of the meeting, Prof. Norbert Mencke from
Bayer Animal Health spoke of the future of the CVBD initiative,
"Bayer Animal Health remains committed to studying and promoting the
prevention of CVBDs and will continue to support the invaluable work
done by the scientific community. We firmly believe that the CVBD
World Forum offers an unparalleled opportunity for the scientific
community to come together and share the latest research findings,
helping to advance the fields of parasitology and veterinary
medicine. Indeed, last year's meeting saw the development of a call
to action from the members of the World Forum and I'm happy to report
that this comprehensive advice to veterinarians around the world is
now being published in the journal Parasites & Vectors (Parasites &
Vectors 2012, 5:55).

"Bayer Animal Health also strives to meet the practical needs of
our customers in their efforts to protect animals from CVBDs. As a
result of these efforts, we recently developed Seresto, a new product
from Bayer Animal Health that offers a significant new step in the
long-term management of ectoparasite threat in both dogs and cats and
that we think gives the promise of a paradigm shift in the management
of CVBDs."

About The CVBD World Forum The CVBD World Forum is a working
group of leading experts in natural sciences, veterinary and human
medicine from Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia and
Asia. It was founded during the 1st International CVBD Symposium in
April 2006 in Billesley, UK, as a consequence of the increasing
global threats through canine vector-borne diseases (CVBD). The main
goal of the CVBD World Forum is to exchange knowledge and findings
about ectoparasite-pathogen-host interaction as well as the
characterisation and assessment of the distribution of pathogens and
vectors in order to increase awareness for the specific regional
risks of CVBD and to foster preventative measures. This work is
supported by Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health Division.

About Bayer HealthCare

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in
the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer
HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 17.2
billion (2011), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies
in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in
Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of
the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals
divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover, develop,
manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal
health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 55,700
employees (Dec 31, 2011) and is represented in more than 100
countries. Find more information at http://www.bayerhealthcare.com.

With a turnover of EUR 1.190 million (2011) Bayer HealthCare's
Animal Health Division is one of the world's leading manufacturers of
veterinary drugs. The division manufactures and markets more than 100
different veterinary drugs and care products for livestock and
companion animals.

Find more information at
http://www.animalhealth.bayerhealthcare.com.

kst (2012-0xxxe)

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Contact:
Contact: Kathrin Statz, Tel. +49-2173-38-4019, E-Mail:
kathrin.statz@bayer.com