‘By being safe, we advise moving the dog to a country of similar disease status or at the very least, check the animal’s health status before you bring him or her over (and test for these so-called non-endemic disases) so that you know what you’re dealing with.’.

Vets warn more pets being imported is likely to increase infection rates (Picture: Getty)Earlier this year an English Pointer who never left Essex developed leishmaniasis, with vets believing his owners could have brought sand flies back from spain in their luggage.

The most common form is cutaneous leishmaniasis, which presents in skin lesions and ulcers, and crops up in the Americas, Mediterranean basin, Middle East and Central Asia.leishmaniasis human symptoms include lesions and ulcers (Image: GETTY)According to PetMD, there are different categories of symptoms which dogs show when they contract the parasite.