Canine leishmaniosis is an expanding parasitic disease causing chronic welfare problems, increasingly relevant in UK as travel and climate change extend its range.
Leishmaniosis causes progressive, chronic suffering from skin, kidney, and immune disease over months to years. Affected dogs experience weight loss, lethargy, and eventual organ failure without effective management. Prevention is far preferable to management - repellent use and vaccination when visiting endemic areas protects individual dogs from acquiring a disease that will require lifelong treatment.