Climate change does not spare domestic dogs and cats, who are now confronted year-round by fleas and ticks, blood-sucking parasites that can transmit potentially fatal diseases to them.
IMAGO/Westend61
The softening of winters actually favors the presence of insects and mites throughout the year and no longer only in summer, explains Éric Guaguère, a veterinary doctor specializing in dermatology and member of the French Association of Companion Animal Veterinarians (AFVAC), contacted by AFP by telephone.
“There is heat, but also moisture,” explains the specialist. “A temperature of 18 degrees combined with average humidity means that fleas are now there all year round. And for ticks, it’s kind of the same.”
“Before, we mainly saw people coming to seek advice on the subject in the spring, but now they come even in the heart of winter,” confirms Carole Archer, specialist veterinary assistant for 17 years and originally from Pau, interviewed on the occasion of a press conference by the pharmaceutical group MSD Animal Health on the subject.
A resurgence that is far from trivial, as these parasites can be particularly harmful to our four-legged companions. In addition to itching and the risk of allergic reactions, ticks can transmit bacteria or parasites through bites, which are responsible for sometimes serious diseases such as piroplasmosis or Lyme disease.
“Break the Cycle”
Piroplasmosis, which can be fatal if not treated in time, “used to be mainly limited to the south-west and Brittany. Now we see them everywhere. And of course it is linked to global warming,” emphasizes Mr Guaguère.
Therefore, it is important to remain vigilant, by carefully inspecting your animal and, above all, by giving antiparasitic treatment regularly throughout the year, insisted Dr. Amaury Briand, a veterinarian specializing in dermatology, during the press conference.
But if 90% of dog owners say they have already used an external antiparasitic product, only half of them are aware of renewing the treatment, according to an OpinionWay survey conducted in March 2024 among 1,000 dog owners for MSD Santé Animale.
On average, animals are protected only 3.8 months a year, their owners estimate. Which is far from enough to “break the cycle” of reproduction of parasites and protect your animal, believes Mr. Briand, who insists on the need to call in veterinarians who will be able to determine the most suitable treatment.
For example, there is no question of giving your cat a lower dose of an anti-parasitic agent dedicated to dogs, he explains. External treatments for dogs based on Permethrin can be especially fatal for cats, warned the Danish health authority Anses in 2019.
Treatments on a case-by-case basis
“It must be adapted to the animal’s lifestyle. The treatment will not be the same for an apartment dog that does not travel, as for a hunting dog that lives with other animals and that walks in the forest, or for a dog from the South-East, where the risk of transmission of leishmaniasis is more important ,” adds Mr. Guaguère.
It is precisely because he regularly travels to the south of France that Alexis Christidis, met in a Parisian veterinary practice, regularly vaccinates Oz, his five-year-old Shiba, against this chronic – even fatal – disease transmitted by the sand fly, a mosquito. very present around the Mediterranean.
“When you have an animal, you want to take care of it,” explains this 30-year-old sales consultant, who also gives her dog an antiparasitic tablet every month.
Conversely, Marcel Tessier, 33, a regular at the same veterinary practice, has never given this kind of preventive treatment to his cat Romus. He doesn’t see the need since the four-year-old red Main Coon never leaves his Parisian apartment.
This does not necessarily mean that his faithful companion is never affected, warns Marion Pierret, veterinary assistant at this practice in Paris’ 18th arrondissement, because Marcel can, for example, bring in fleas from outside. Prevention is better than cure, specialists insist.
