Dogs in Tonga
Dogs are common in Tonga, with one dog for every four people approximately. They live in a close relationship with humans, both as free-ranging pets and guard dogs for domestic properties, which increases the risk of disease transmission between people and dogs. Tonga has no permanent veterinary clinic or qualified veterinary personnel so treatment for animals depends on volunteers providing temporary clinics.
Te Pūkenga Veterinary Nursing lecturers Kristina Naden (Otago Polytechnic) and Kate Harder (Unitec) undertook a pilot study into two diseases in dogs, leptospirosis and heartworm (caused by Dirofilaria immitis). They took blood samples for testing from 82 dogs which were brought to a temporary clinic for desexing on the island of Tongatapu. The dogs were all aged 6 months or older, with nearly half less than 12 months old.
All 82 dogs tested negative for both Leptospira spp. and Dirofilaris immitis. This result was surprising because the former has been detected previously in swine and cattle in Tonga, and the latter is common in Asia Pacific countries and in tropical countries. This result could be explained by the need for the dogs to be clinically healthy to be eligible for desexing. Dogs that are not desexed or not healthy may be more likely to suffer from these diseases.