A vet has revealed the warning signs to look out for after it was confirmed that a rare dog cancer had returned to the UK for the first time in over 50 years.
Canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) has been detected in the UK and scientists from the University of Cambridge are now calling on vets across the country to report any cases they might see among their four-legged patients.
Dogs are sometimes the ones telling humans that they have cancer, as one labrador managed to do with both of his owners, but the cruel disease can tragically also our pets.
Increasing evidence suggests that CTVT is now back in the UK and one vet has now explained why rescuing dogs from abroad could be the source of the issue, as more and more prospective owners look to bring dogs in difficult situations back to the UK.
Ben Simpson-Vernon, who runs the popular ‘Ben the Vet’ page on social media, told LADbible: “We’ve not seen it in this country for about 50 years, essentially because we don’t really have free roaming dogs that can mate freely amongst each other, since most dogs are neutered. And so it was essentially eradicated.
“But now we’re seeing more movement of dogs globally than ever before. And certainly a lot of dogs coming from Eastern Europe and a lot of Eastern European countries have high rates of this problem in stray dog populations particularly. Dogs are sometimes illegally imported as well, but also rescue dogs that are coming from these countries and sometimes bringing this this TVT with them.”
Ben the Vet provides vet advice to thousands of followers online (Supplied)
CTVT can be problematic if left untreated but there should be some rather clear signs that your dog is struggling with the rare cancer, since most will develop a large red tumour around their genitals.
Ben adds: “Dogs affected by CTVT tend to have unusual growths around the genital area and will often have an abnormal discharge from the area and so it can be often just picked up visibly.”
Just checking with a vet who knows how to look out for the visible signs should be enough to rule out CTVT or provide a diagnosis, and if you are unfortunate enough to have your dog diagnosed with the dog cancer, then fortunately the treatment is far more straightforward than with humans.
Most dogs are expected to respond well to the chemotherapy that would be prescribed if they are struggling with the rare form of cancer, and it’s expected that the vast majority of healthy dogs would make a full recovery.
Ben is also keen to stress that while many pet owners might fear the worst, especially with cancer being something of a taboo topic at times in the UK, this is still an extremely rare disease and the chances of your pet catching it are extremely slim.
A dog with CTVT would have a large red tumour around its genitals (Getty Stock)
Most of the time, CTVT passes from one dog to another through sexual contact, so having your dogs neutered can help to prevent this spread. But if you are worried, then the University of Cambridge is doing free testing, so biopsies from your own personal vet could easily be sent there to make absolute sure.
Ben said: “The risk to the adult general population is extremely low.”
Interestingly, the disease itself can actually be traced back to the ‘one original dog’, a husky-like dog in Northeast Asia who lived around 6000 years ago. The DNA from the tumour inside that dog, contains the same cells which are found in dogs suffering from CTVT today.
Thankfully, the medical care we have available has also progressed in the past 6000 years, so although the chances of your dog contracting this cancer are low, if you do end up in this situation, the chemotherapy treatment available also means that you shouldn’t worry too much.
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