Impact of Dog Transport on High-Risk Infectious Diseases.

Translocation of dogs inherently poses infectious disease risks when pathogen distributions vary between regions, even within the same country. Concerns include introduction of novel pathogens that can infect dogs, zoonotic pathogens, pathogens that can become established in existing reservoirs or vectors, and vectors that might carry pathogens and/or become established in a new region. This article presents the drivers of canine movement and their relative risks, and provides examples of diseases to show how different pathogen characteristics and transmission pathways can affect the impact of movement of infected dogs.