Data uncovers new tick threat times for Australian pets

University of Queensland research reveals that spring, rather than summer, is the peak time for tick paralysis in dogs and cats and there are cases year-round. A team led by Professor Stephen Barker at UQ's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences analysed 22,840 cases across 20 years of veterinary records in four regions along Australia's east coast. "We found that there were tick cases in pets at veterinary hospitals all year in all of the regions we studied, even in the coldest winter months," Professor Barker said. "It's definitely a wake-up call for pet owners to protect and check their pets all year round. "The records also showed the biggest danger period for dogs and cats occurs in spring and not in summer as most people would expect. "Around Cairns and Innisfail in far north Queensland the peak of cases at vet surgeries was in August and September, in southeast Queensland it was September and October while in Sydney's northern beaches it was October and November. "This appears to be when the eggs laid by female ticks the previous summer hatch to pose the biggest threat.