The human-animal bond has been a fundamental feature of mankind's history for
millennia. The first, and strongest of these, man's relationship with the dog,
is believed to pre-date even agriculture, going back as far as 30,000 years.
It remains at least as powerful today. Fed by the changing nature of the
interactions between people and their dogs worldwide and the increasing
tendency towards close domesticity, the health of dogs has never played a more
important role in family life. Thanks to developments in scientific
understanding and diagnostic techniques, as well as changing priorities of pet
owners, veterinarians are now able, and indeed expected, to play a fundamental
role in the prevention and treatment of canine disease, including canine
vector-borne diseases (CVBDs).The CVBDs represent a varied and complex group
of diseases, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis,
dirofilariosis, ehrlichiosis, leishmaniosis, rickettsiosis and thelaziosis,
with new syndromes being uncovered every year. Many of these diseases can
cause serious, even life-threatening clinical conditions in dogs, with a
number having zoonotic potential, affecting the human population.Today, CVBDs
pose a growing global threat as they continue their spread far from their
traditional geographical and temporal restraints as a result of changes in
both climatic conditions and pet dog travel patterns, exposing new populations
to previously unknown infectious agents and posing unprecedented challenges to
veterinarians.In response to this growing threat, the CVBD World Forum, a
multidisciplinary group of experts in CVBDs from around the world which meets
on an annual basis, gathered in Nice (France) in 2011 to share the latest
research on CVBDs and discuss the best approaches to managing these diseases
around the world.As a result of these discussions, we, the members of the CVBD
Forum have developed the following recommendations to veterinarians for the
management of CVBDs