Humans catch dog disease for first time in UK

Health officials have urged dog owners to watch out for a disease that has spread from canines to humans in Britain for the first time.

The UK Health Security Agency said three cases of Brucella canis had been confirmed in people since last year — the first on record.

Infections are rarely fatal but can be serious for people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and young children.

In the first three months of this year 43 infected dogs were identified in Britain, about twice as many as in the same period the previous year.

Nearly half the positive results were in animals adopted by UK owners through organisations that specialise in rehoming dogs from overseas, especially from Romania.

More than 29,000 dogs were imported