21/12/2022
Vet clinics are reporting a huge increase in tick cases this year, sparking a critical nationwide shortage of a potentially life-saving product used to treat paralysis in pets.
Emeritus Professor at Murdoch University, Peter Irwin, who is a member of the Australian Veterinary Association, said recent wet and warm weather along Australia's east coast had seen an "explosion" of paralysis tick numbers.
"All that rain we've had on the east coast over the last few months, there's certainly many more ticks around at the moment," Emeritus Professor Irwin said.
"Particularly the Australian paralysis tick, that's the tick that is of most risk to our pets – it also bites people as well.
"It's found predominantly along the eastern coast of Australia, east of the divide and of course we've had the very wet weather there … it has led to an explosion of the paralysis ticks," he said.
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