Paralysis ticks and your dog

Elisa McCutcheon
Chair, Dogs Queensland Canine Health Committee

Tick season is coming.

Paralysis ticks are one of the most serious tick hazards for dogs in Australia, especially for those residing or visiting coastal areas along the East Coast. Ixodes holocyclus (the eastern paralysis tick) is found along the Australian Eastern seaboard throughout the coastal areas of Queensland, through New South Wales and all the way down to Northern Victoria. In Queensland and Northern New South Wales, tick cases can still occur throughout the year.

The Eastern Paralysis Tick is one of the most toxic ticks in the world. The tick injects a powerful toxin while feeding. Envenomation may lead to weakness, breathing difficulty, paralysis and, in severe cases, death. Just one tick may be enough to cause fatal paralysis.

Prevention

If you live in a tick-prone area, dogs should be checked after bush walks, time in long grass or visits to areas frequented by wildlife. When walking your dog, keep your dog on a lead, stay on the path and avoid long grass and wildlife areas altogether.

The best protection is prevention. There are reliable tick prevention products. Use as recommended by your veterinarian and apply or administer it in accordance with the directions provided. Daily tick checks are also important, especially around the head, ears, neck, lips, under the collar, between the toes and around the tail.

Knowing the signs, checking your dog(s) and using effective prevention all year round can greatly reduce the risk. However, preventive treatment is not 100% effective. Efficacy may be reduced towards the end of the period of coverage.

Signs and symptoms

• Voice changes
• Wobbliness or weakness, often starting in the back legs
• Vomiting, retching or regurgitation
• Drooling or trouble swallowing
• Fast or laboured breathing
• Lethargy, collapse or inability to stand

What to do if you find a tick

If you find a tick on your dog, remove it as quickly as possible and contact a veterinarian straight away for advice. Check your dog carefully. Where there is one, there may be more.

After removal of a tick, symptoms can still appear or worsen over the next 24 to 36 hours, so a veterinary assessment is important.

Treatment

Since 1945, there has been a tick antiserum (TAS) available to treat tick poisoning. The tick antiserum works by mopping up the toxins that are circulating in the bloodstream of the dog thereby relieving the symptoms to a point where hopefully the dog’s immune system and other physiological coping mechanisms allow the dog to recover. The earlier treatment is commenced, the better the prospects of recovery. In most cases, a tick clip will be recommended. If refused, it is highly likely that you will be required to sign a waiver.

Data from veterinary hospitals and clinics on the east coast of Australia indicates that approximately 50,000 dogs are taken to a vet each year for veterinary treatment for tick paralysis (Barker et al. unpublished data). The cost of treatment is very high and there is no guarantee of success. One in 10 of these 50,000 dogs (i.e. approximately 5,000 dogs) will not recover from tick paralysis or will die by euthanasia because the dog is unable to be saved.

The above figures are despite the availability of tick preventative products. In the absence of such products, the number of dogs affected and deaths would be far higher.

For those dogs that do recover from tick paralysis, there are often long-term effects. For example, the long QT syndrome (LQTS) which often leads to sudden and unexpected death well after tick paralysis hospitalisation (Atwell & Campbell, 2008), cardiovascular sequela and other long-term side effects (Campbell 2002).

Risks — supply of tick antiserum

One of the greatest ongoing risks for future treatment is a reliable supply of TAS. Due to drier weather conditions in late 2022 and early 2023, there were way fewer ticks in the environment. While this seems great, this affected the supply of ticks to manufacture the Tick Antiserum. So, when conditions became wetter and more favourable to ticks, there was a critical shortage of Tick Antiserum. Veterinary practices around the country could not buy the Tick Antiserum that they needed. Following crisis-meetings, in the end just enough Tick Antiserum was available in most parts of Queensland, and so only a small number of dogs died because of the lack of supply of the Tick Antiserum. A major crisis was averted, thankfully. But this shortage highlighted the precarious nature of the Tick Antiserum supply-chain in Queensland.

It seems inevitable that soon, another shortage of female paralysis ticks in the environment, and the subsequent shortage of Tick Antiserum will disrupt the clinical treatment of dogs by veterinary practices along the east coast of Australia, particularly those in Queensland, New South Wales and Northern Victoria.

Research to ensure supply of tick antiserum for Australia

Dogs Queensland is currently funding important research by Professor Barker at the University of Queensland to ensure a reliable supply of critical tick antiserum around the country.

“Let’s Talk Ticks” by Elisa McCutcheon, Chair of the Dogs Queensland Canine Health Committee. Reproduced from the June 2026 edition of Dog World with the permission and authorisation of Dogs Queensland. This article is general information and is not a substitute for veterinary advice — if you are concerned about your dog, contact your veterinarian.