Just what is "Leptospirosis" anyway?
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection found in over 180 species of animals, including humans, dogs, rodents, livestock, and a wide variety of wild animals, including rats, raccoons, skunks, possum, and deer. It is found worldwide, and is most commonly prevalent during periods of heavy rainfall. In Western New York, it is found in the environment most frequently in the spring, when rainfall is the greatest, and the fall, when it's wildlife hosts are most active. In dogs, exposure has been documented year round. A recent study showed 1/3 of raccoons shed Leptospirosis bacteria in their urine, and even more frightening, 90% of rats in urban areas do.
The infection may be contracted in a number of ways, including direct contact with an infected animal, eating infected (uncooked) meat, and most commonly via the urine of an infected animal. Most people and dogs are infected when swimming in contaminated water (lakes, ponds, streams), or drinking it (puddles, contaminated wells, etc.). In reality, anything contaminated by infected urine (plants, dirt, objects, water) can act as a source of infection.
It is very important to realize that, once infected, dogs and wild animals can serve as what are known as "reservoirs", and may then continue to spread the bacteria into the environment for months and even years! The Leptospirosis bacteria can live in the contaminated environment for weeks to a number of months under most favorable conditions.
Leptospirosis can cause a variety of symptoms in infected dogs, and in fact, some show no signs of illness whatsoever. Others will demonstrate varying degrees of: decreased appetite, fever, muscle pain, weakness and depression, vomiting, diarrhea, conjunctivitis (red eyes), coughing or difficulty breathing, jaundice, and kidney or liver failure. Approximately 20% of infected dogs die from this disease.
Unfortunately, Leptospirosis is not always an easy disease to diagnose. The first thing Dr. Meisner and I check when we suspect Lepto, is a dog’s vaccination status. We also will ask questions regarding its' lifestyle; is it likely the dog may have been exposed? Of course, the clinical signs it is demonstrating offer clues, but as you can see from the list above, signs may be relatively nonspecific. If we strongly suspect we may be dealing with "Lepto", we will draw blood and send it out for specialized tests to help us reach the correct diagnosis. Treatment is usually initiated before we get the test results back. This is because of the risk of the potential severity of this disease in our patient, and also (very important), the risk of infection in people exposed to the dog!
In most cases, the disease can be successfully treated. Along with appropriate antibiotics, hospitalization and supportive care such as intravenous fluids to help prevent kidney failure are extremely important.
The great news is that Leptospirosis is a very preventable disease. Vaccines have been available for decades, which help provide protection for dogs coming in contact with the bacterium. The biggest problem with vaccination is that years ago, the old "bacterins", were known to be the primary cause of post-vaccination adverse reactions. Unfortunately, there are still many breeders, and even a few veterinarians, who refuse to vaccinate dogs for this disease.
A study involving over 300,000 dogs vaccinated with modern Leptospirosis vaccines was published in November of 2015 in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. This study conclusively demonstrated, that the modern recombinant Lepto vaccines, such as the one we use here at Aurora Pet Hospital, cause no more adverse reactions that other vaccines commonly administered to dogs. The days of what I called "leptophobia" are over, and the tiny risk of an adverse vaccine reaction is much smaller that the real threat Leptospirosis poses to our canine companions. One word of caution however; vaccines are still being sold that are the old "bacterins". I witnessed a vial of one being sold recently by at a local feed store, to be sold to primarily "breeders", who vaccinate their own dogs/puppies. Rest assured we will never administer one of those at this veterinary practice!!
So there you have it. Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that poses an ever present danger to the vast majority of our canine patients and to their humans as well. For this reason, we recommend an annual vaccination. While no vaccine provides 100% protection, it can be very effective at providing protection against this disease.
Should you desire more information on Leptospirosis, or if we at Aurora Pet Hospital can help you in any other way, please do not hesitate to call my office at: 655-0305.
Once again, thanks for "listening"........
Dr. Keem
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection found in over 180 species of animals, including humans, dogs, rodents, livestock, and a wide variety of wild animals, including rats, raccoons, skunks, possum, and deer. It is found worldwide, and is most commonly prevalent during periods of heavy rainfall. In Western New York, it is found in the environment most frequently in the spring, when rainfall is the greatest, and the fall, when it's wildlife hosts are most active. In dogs, exposure has been documented year round. A recent study showed 1/3 of raccoons shed Leptospirosis bacteria in their urine, and even more frightening, 90% of rats in urban areas do.
The infection may be contracted in a number of ways, including direct contact with an infected animal, eating infected (uncooked) meat, and most commonly via the urine of an infected animal. Most people and dogs are infected when swimming in contaminated water (lakes, ponds, streams), or drinking it (puddles, contaminated wells, etc.). In reality, anything contaminated by infected urine (plants, dirt, objects, water) can act as a source of infection.
It is very important to realize that, once infected, dogs and wild animals can serve as what are known as "reservoirs", and may then continue to spread the bacteria into the environment for months and even years! The Leptospirosis bacteria can live in the contaminated environment for weeks to a number of months under most favorable conditions.
Leptospirosis can cause a variety of symptoms in infected dogs, and in fact, some show no signs of illness whatsoever. Others will demonstrate varying degrees of: decreased appetite, fever, muscle pain, weakness and depression, vomiting, diarrhea, conjunctivitis (red eyes), coughing or difficulty breathing, jaundice, and kidney or liver failure. Approximately 20% of infected dogs die from this disease.
Unfortunately, Leptospirosis is not always an easy disease to diagnose. The first thing Dr. Meisner and I check when we suspect Lepto, is a dog’s vaccination status. We also will ask questions regarding its' lifestyle; is it likely the dog may have been exposed? Of course, the clinical signs it is demonstrating offer clues, but as you can see from the list above, signs may be relatively nonspecific. If we strongly suspect we may be dealing with "Lepto", we will draw blood and send it out for specialized tests to help us reach the correct diagnosis. Treatment is usually initiated before we get the test results back. This is because of the risk of the potential severity of this disease in our patient, and also (very important), the risk of infection in people exposed to the dog!
In most cases, the disease can be successfully treated. Along with appropriate antibiotics, hospitalization and supportive care such as intravenous fluids to help prevent kidney failure are extremely important.
The great news is that Leptospirosis is a very preventable disease. Vaccines have been available for decades, which help provide protection for dogs coming in contact with the bacterium. The biggest problem with vaccination is that years ago, the old "bacterins", were known to be the primary cause of post-vaccination adverse reactions. Unfortunately, there are still many breeders, and even a few veterinarians, who refuse to vaccinate dogs for this disease.
A study involving over 300,000 dogs vaccinated with modern Leptospirosis vaccines was published in November of 2015 in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. This study conclusively demonstrated, that the modern recombinant Lepto vaccines, such as the one we use here at Aurora Pet Hospital, cause no more adverse reactions that other vaccines commonly administered to dogs. The days of what I called "leptophobia" are over, and the tiny risk of an adverse vaccine reaction is much smaller that the real threat Leptospirosis poses to our canine companions. One word of caution however; vaccines are still being sold that are the old "bacterins". I witnessed a vial of one being sold recently by at a local feed store, to be sold to primarily "breeders", who vaccinate their own dogs/puppies. Rest assured we will never administer one of those at this veterinary practice!!
So there you have it. Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that poses an ever present danger to the vast majority of our canine patients and to their humans as well. For this reason, we recommend an annual vaccination. While no vaccine provides 100% protection, it can be very effective at providing protection against this disease.
Should you desire more information on Leptospirosis, or if we at Aurora Pet Hospital can help you in any other way, please do not hesitate to call my office at: 655-0305.
Once again, thanks for "listening"........
Dr. Keem
