You just brought Rover home from the vet’s office where he had his annual check up and received his yearly vaccinations. You’re feeling good. The dog is protected and you have no worries.
Guess again. Leptospirosis, a bacteria that affects both dogs and humans, is not always avoided with vaccinations. Unfortunately, the vaccine only protects against two of several strains of the bacteria, which has been on the increase in recent years because of the urbanization of rural areas. As wild animals are forced to live in and around housing developments, our pets are more at risk of interacting with an infected animal.
In North America, most of the known cases of leptospirosis occur between July and November in humid areas. Great care needs to be taken when dealing with animals infected with leptospirosis, which is transmitted between animals through infected urine, bite wounds or ingestion of infected tissue. An infected dog that bites a human can pass on leptospirosis. Humans can also get the disease from dogs by coming into contact with the urine from an infected dog or animal. Always take precautions to protect yourself against the disease. Wear rubber gloves when cleaning up any messes made by animals. Wash hands frequently and thoroughly.
Once infected by leptospires, the organisms will quickly spread through the bloodstream. Symptoms of leptospirosis include fever, shivering, joint pain, tenderness of the muscles and lethargy. Some develop vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice (the whites of the eyes tend to look yellow in color).
The leptospires settle in the kidneys where they begin to reproduce. Inflammation of the kidneys occurs and this can result in kidney failure. Depending on the type of leptospire involved in the infection, other organs such as the liver can be expected to fail.
Leptospirosis, which tends to more severely affect younger dogs, can kill. The odds are better when the disease is detected before escalating to the kidneys and liver. Some dogs that develop liver and kidney problems as a result of the disease will improve after a few weeks of treatment. Others may die as organs fail.
Pet owners should keep in mind that dogs that recover from leptospirosis can produce the bacteria in their urine for months or years. Wear those rubber gloves!
Some dogs that become infected with the disease never show symptoms or they show very few. The strain of bacteria dictates the severity.
A leptospirosis infection can be diagnosed by a blood test or urine culture. The blood test can pinpoint the strain of leptospirosis. However, it takes 10 days to get accurate results.
A urine culture usually gives immediate answers, but it is possible to get a false negative because some dogs do not shed the bacteria in their urine all of the time. Many veterinarians choose to perform both tests to eliminate the waiting and guess work.
The good news is that leptospirosis can be treated with antibiotics. Penicillin (or one of its derivatives) has been very effective. An infected dog will need fluids and medicine to control vomiting.
If the disease goes far enough to cause kidney or liver damage, that condition must be treated.
Once a dog’s initial infection has been treated, doxycycline is often prescribed to prevent the disease from lingering in the body long term.
Related posts:
- Is Your Dog Making You Sick?
- Five Most Common Puppy Diseases
- What You Can Catch from Your Puppy
- Contagious Puppy Diseases
- Puppy Vaccinations Explored
