Bringing a Dog to South Africa from the US: Blood Test Update
Are you bringing your dog to South Africa from the United States? It may be a good idea to review the import rules and requirements for dogs entering South Africa since they were recently updated.
While the US does not have any documented cases of the disease, South Africa now requires that dogs coming from the United States be tested for Trypanosoma evansi (surra).
This test must be completed within 30 days of travel, along with the previously required blood work, for a dog to be successfully imported into the country. Unfortunately, not every laboratory has the ability or approval to run the T. evansi (surra) tests so samples must be sent to either the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium or the National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases in Japan for the test to be properly completed.
This makes it a little harder to bring a dog to South Africa, but not impossible to navigate. Our PetRelocation consultants and coordinators are here to help guide you through this process as we’ve done this before!