The disease eats the flesh of dogs and is fatal in most cases (Picture: Wessex News)

A vet believes she has made a potential breakthrough in identifying the cause of the deadly Alabama rot which has plagued the UK.

Hundreds of dogs across the country have died because of the flesh eating disease that causes kidney failure and horrific lesions.

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70 to 80% of all cases are fatal and there is no known effective treatment.

But now vet Fiona Macdonald suggests there may be a link between Alabama rot and a bacteria found in fish that causes similar symptoms.


Dr Macdonald, who runs a fish treatment centre which develops and supplies professional medicines for fish, said: ‘A friend of mine’s dog was one of the first cases to contract Alabama Rot and a neighbour of mine is a microbiologist so he and I decided to put out heads together and we thought it could not be a poison.

Parker’s paw developed an ulcer after a walk and had to be put down (Picture: Wessex News)

‘We realised it didn’t affect other animals and so we thought it might be a disease that specifically targets dogs.



‘So I went onto google and found a paper written in 1995 linking an organism which causes kidney failure in dogs.

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‘The organism was Aeromonas hydrophila, which is a bacteria I know very well because it also affects fish and we have known about it for a long time.

‘It infects the animal and causes toxins to enter the body which can kill.’

This particular organism can be found in fresh or brackish water, common bodies of water found near popular dog paths.

What Alabama Rot can look like on the leg of a dog, as a vet thinks she may have identified the source (Picture: Vets4Pets/Solent News)

Dr Macdonald, from Ringwood in Hampshire’s New Forest, where many of the deaths have occurred, added: ‘My theory is that the organism infects the dog’s skin and then the toxins travel to the dog’s kidneys, causing failure.

‘It is a very toxigenic organism, and the toxin, Aerolysin, has been well documented and so the kidney failure is likely to be a result of the toxins rather than from direct infection by the organism itself.

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‘This could explain why the organism has never been isolated so far in affected dog kidneys and why it has remained a mystery all this time.’

Dr Macdonald, with funding from New Forest Dog Owners’ Group, has tested 27 dogs suffering from symptoms of the bacteria but has said many more tests need to be done.

She added: ‘Looking forward, this project now needs many more samples in order to be able to draw firm conclusions, although these early indications are very promising.’

The next step in her theory is to have it peer-reviewed by other scientists to check her findings are correct.

For that, she needs more data and has appealed to owners whose dogs may have suffered from Alabama Rot to get in touch to take part in tests.

To join the trial, contact info@fish-treatment.co.uk.

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