Leptospirosis is a disease brought on by bacteria that infected wildlife excretes in their urine. The largest reservoirs are found in deer, skunks, and raccoons, though rodents like mice and rats also harbor it. Typically, leptospirosis results in severe kidney and liver damage, which can occasionally be fatal. It is a zoonotic disease, which means that humans are also affected by it.
All of these factors make it crucial for dog owners to be knowledgeable about this illness, comprehend how it spreads, recognize the warning signs, and most importantly, discover the most effective preventative measures.
Leptospires are a type of bacteria known as spirochetes. It differs from other bacteria in that it is difficult to cultivate in a lab, making it difficult for your veterinarian to accurately diagnose your sick dog.
Leptospire thrives in the kidneys of reservoir hosts like raccoons, deer, and skunks. Those who are reservoir hosts have adapted to the organism and do not contract the disease; instead, they merely carry the organism and excrete it in their urine. The leptospire does not reproduce once it is released into the environment, but it can endure warm, moist conditions for weeks or even months. It prefers puddles, muddy ground, and stagnant water, which is where you and your dog are most likely to find it.
Species who become ill with leptospirosis are called incidental hosts. These include both dogs and humans. When swimming or drinking from mud puddles, the leptospire enters the incidental host through mucous membranes, and when tracking through mud with cuts or open sores, it enters through breaks in the skin.
Leptospires multiply quickly once they’ve entered a vulnerable host, where they start immediately harming the blood vessel lining. This blood vessel injury then leads to organ damage. Leptospirosis most frequently damages the kidneys and liver, but it can also harm the lungs, eyes, and central nervous system.
Your dog’s risk is influenced by your location, your environment at home, your lifestyle, and the season.
Leptospirosis is a disease that affects everyone, but it’s most common in places with a lot of rain and warm weather. Leptospirosis is most prevalent in Hawaii in the United States, but cases have been reported across the entire continent. The upper Midwest, West Coast, Northeast, Southeast, and mid-Atlantic coastal regions all have high numbers. Case numbers in the United States peak in late fall.
High levels of neighborhood wildlife present a risk to homes, especially if your yard is unfenced and larger animals like deer are present.
Your risk of contracting leptospirosis is higher if your daily activities involve hiking, camping, or taking your dog for walks in parks or wooded areas. Although mice and rats can be carriers, your risk is significantly lower if you live in an urban area and lead a more sedentary or indoor lifestyle.
Although there has been a documented increase in leptospirosis cases in urban areas, I find it difficult to accept that exposure from mouse urine is comparable to that from deer urine. However, avoiding risk altogether is preferable to minimizing it, so rodent control in urban areas is advised.
The symptoms of leptospirosis in your dog can vary, but they almost always include lethargy and appetite loss. Fever, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, and urination are common. When the liver is involved, icterus (yellow mucous membranes) frequently occurs.
Muscle pain, abdominal pain, and inflammatory eye conditions are less typical but potential symptoms. Damage to the lungs can lead to breathing problems and bloody coughing. Fortunately, lung involvement is rare and has a much worse prognosis.
Diagnosing leptospirosis in dogs is challenging. A preliminary index of suspicion for this condition will be determined by your veterinarian based on the patient’s medical history, physical exam results, blood tests, and urinalysis results. The next step involves submitting blood for a test known as a microscopic agglutination test (MAT) if it is high enough. This test looks for antibodies against leptospirosis. Sounds simple, right? It’s not!.
A single MAT is insufficient for a conclusive diagnosis of leptospirosis due to several complicating factors. First off, early in the course of a disease, antibodies are not always detectable. It takes time for the immune system to form antibodies.
The best way to be certain is to compare two samples: the acute titer, which was taken immediately, and the convalescent titer, which was taken two weeks later. This is regarded as diagnostic for leptospirosis if the titer increases by fourfold or more. However, we cannot wait two weeks to begin leptospirosis treatment; your dog must begin the appropriate antibiotic therapy as soon as possible.
Even worse, antibiotic treatment may stifle the increase in antibody titer that we need to make a conclusive diagnosis. Therefore, despite the possibility of leptospirosis, it may not appear to be leptospirosis given the lack of rising titer in the paired samples. This is frustrating, but I’ve come to realize that everything will be fine as long as the initial index of suspicion is high enough, the patient receives prompt, effective therapy, and fully recovers. In this case, we just can’t say with certainty that it was leptospirosis; we can only say that it was probably leptospirosis.
Vaccinated dogs can still succumb to active infection, and leptospirosis-vaccinated dogs will show vaccine-induced antibodies on a titer test, which are two additional factors that can cloud the diagnosis.
This means there is no way to distinguish between active infection antibodies and vaccine-induced antibodies when a vaccinated dog presents with symptoms of leptospirosis and has a positive titer on the MAT. Does he have leptospirosis or not? Only time will tell. You can bet I’m treating him for it in the interim.
There is currently a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test available that looks for the actual DNA of the leptospire organism and is unaffected by vaccination status. These tests can detect disease earlier, but it is still unknown how accurate they are. Therefore, if the PCR results are negative, it would still be wise to start treatment if the veterinarian has a high index of suspicion.
While diagnosis can be tricky, treatment is more straightforward. Fortunately, a small number of antibiotics cause the leptospire organism to be extremely sensitive. This means you can typically anticipate a good outcome if your dog receives a quick, accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment is started early in the course of the disease. Up to 80% of dogs handled in this way will make a full recovery.
Appropriate antibiotic therapy is paramount to a successful outcome. Typically, early treatment with penicillin or its descendant ampicillin is used to eradicate the bacteria from the bloodstream. Doxycycline is typically administered for at least two weeks because it aids in the organism’s removal from the kidneys. Anti-emetics (anti-vomiting) and pain medications are administered as needed.
Depending on the severity of the disease, hospitalization is almost always required as part of the treatment. Involvement of the kidneys and liver necessitates aggressive intravenous fluid therapy and meticulous professional observation. Patients with severe kidney disease who don’t improve after intravenous fluid therapy ought to be referred to a specialized dialysis facility.
Although a positive prognosis can be given at this point, your dog will require close monitoring for several months after being released from the hospital.
Your vet will give you instructions on how to properly handle your dog’s urine at home, including whether or not to clean it up with gloves. It would be wise to use a yard sprayer and a bleach solution to spray each location where your dog urinates in your yard because common household disinfectants with bleach are effective against this bacteria.
Ask your veterinarian about doxycycline preventative treatment for any additional dogs you have, just in case. When we are out and about, I am aware that my dogs always drink from and travel through the same puddles. There is a good chance that the other has been exposed if one gets sick.
Always a good idea to use effective rodent control, both inside and outside. A fence will prevent larger animals like deer from urinating where your dog goes outside. There is always a risk associated with exposing your dog to leptospires in the environment in addition to keeping them in a bubble!
This is where vaccination comes in. The four serovars of the bacteria are all covered by the four canine leptospirosis vaccines that are currently on the market. More than 200 different leptospirosis serovars have been identified, so the four serovars in the vaccine are not the only serovars your dog may encounter in the United States, but they are the most prevalent. Furthermore, the vaccine provides some cross-protection from the other serovars. Even better, there is some proof that vaccinated dogs who contract leptospirosis may suffer from a milder form of the illness.
I advise delaying the start of the leptospirosis vaccination until the child is 12 weeks old. The initial series requires two doses, given three weeks apart. Thereafter, an annual booster is given. Based on their clinical experience, your veterinarian may advise boostering more frequently than that in areas where they encounter a lot of cases, possibly as frequently as every six to nine months.
It’s possible that you’ve heard of or personally experienced the leptospirosis vaccine’s drawbacks in the past. I can attest to the fact that this vaccine used to appear to cause significantly more and worse adverse reactions in dogs than other vaccines in the past as a practicing veterinarian. When it came to adverse reactions to the leptospirosis vaccine, the smaller breeds, particularly Pugs and Dachshunds, were unquestionably overrepresented. Small-breed dog breeders frequently cautioned prospective puppy buyers about the risks of this vaccination and strongly discouraged it.
Fortunately, this is no longer the case thanks to the significantly improved vaccines in use today. Recent studies have demonstrated that this vaccine is no more reactive than any other common dog vaccines.
However, there is always a risk associated with vaccination, so I advise conducting a disease risk assessment for each individual dog before deciding which vaccines are best for that dog. You assume some risk each time you or your dog receives a vaccination. The severity of reactions can range from mild (just feeling lousy for 24 hours) to severe (hives, vomiting, and/or diarrhea). A delayed reaction to a vaccination can manifest weeks later as an auto-immune disease.
That’s why it might not make sense to subject your dog to the inherent risks associated with vaccination if there is little to no risk of your dog contracting a disease. Leptospirosis is classified as a “non-core” vaccine in the current American Animal Hospital Association vaccination guidelines, meaning some dogs may not need to receive it. All dogs should receive certain core vaccinations, such as those against rabies, parvovirus, and distemper.
The bottom line is that you shouldn’t be hesitant to vaccinate your dog against leptospirosis, but you should first carefully consider the risks by taking into account your environment and way of life. Your dog is at greater risk if your yard is accessible to skunks, raccoons, and deer or if there is a lot of wildlife close to your home. Dogs who are taken on hikes or camping trips in areas with wildlife are also more at risk.
In the end, it’s up to you whether or not to vaccinate your dog against leptospirosis. As always, your veterinarian is the best source of guidance for you and your dog.
Vaccines Don’t Cover All Strains Of Lepto
Therefore, either the vaccine is ineffective or there are serovars that cause the disease that it is unable to protect against.
Given the large number of lepto serovars and the large number of disease strains for which there are no vaccines, the latter seems more likely. In the US, serovar shift is used as an explanation for the vaccine’s efficacy. There is no evidence to support theories that vaccines caused the serovar shift in the first place.
It’s crucial to determine each year which serovar causes Leptospirosis infections in your region using your state’s public health records before you even think about immunizing your dog against the disease (and I hope you won’t after reading this article).
To avoid putting your dog at unnecessary risk, make sure the vaccine is an exact DNA match for the pathogenic strain it will come into contact with. It can be very difficult to find an exact match with the vaccine because there are so many more nonpathogenic Leptospira.
Leptospira vaccines for dogs are now available in two forms:
The four-way vaccine is the recommended choice because L. canicola and L. icterohaemorrhagieae infections appear to be in decline, while L. grippotyphosa is on the rise. Two additional serovars now identified as causing infection, L. bratislava and L. automnalis, are not included in current vaccines.
Monitoring the environment for the presence of particular serovars would be very expensive. As the disease rarely affects humans, there is currently no such program.
Last but not least, even if the vaccine is effective against the serovars, the protection it provides is very transient. Due to this, many veterinarians advise revaccinating dogs at high risk every six months, despite the fact that according to Dr. Schultz, four doses of the four-way vaccine are necessary to provide antibody protection.
Leptospirosis (Lepto) is a disease that can affect both humans and animals and is brought on by the Leptospira bacteria. In fact, it is presently the zoonotic disease that affects humans the most frequently worldwide.
Generally younger animals are more seriously affected than older animals. In general, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian whenever your dog exhibits symptoms of illness or is acting abnormally. Please speak with your family veterinarian if you have any questions about leptospirosis in particular or if you believe your dog may be infected. For more information visit the links below.
The symptoms of this disease in animals can be challenging to spot because they can look similar to those of many other illnesses, and in some cases, pets may not exhibit any symptoms at all. Some of the clinical symptoms that have been noted in dogs are listed below. These include:
Although the leptospirosis vaccination for dogs is not currently required, it is strongly advised for any dog that frequently ventures outside, even just to use the restroom in the backyard. It’s important to understand that even if your dog is vaccinated, there is no 100% guarantee that they will not contract leptospirosis. Small breed dogs and dogs living in urban environments may initially seem to have a lower risk, but are actually the most frequently diagnosed patients in veterinary hospitals.
The currently available vaccine only offers partial protection against the numerous varieties of Leptospira bacteria that cause leptospirosis. The risk of your dog contracting leptospirosis does, however, decrease with vaccination.
What is leptospirosis?
Dogs and other mammals can contract the bacterial disease leptospirosis, which primarily affects the liver or kidneys. Leptospires, the name for the bacteria that cause leptospirosis, are helical or spiral in shape and have a distinctive hook on one or both ends. They thrive in water. Leptospira comes in a variety of species and serovars (strains), some of which are harmful to dogs. Cats rarely contract leptospirosis, and the infection has no clinical symptoms.
In areas where widespread dog vaccination is the norm, leptospirosis is rare. However, outbreaks of the illness are still occasionally observed because vaccines only provide protection against the four most common serovars of Leptospira. Leptospirosis is more common in rural, wooded areas. The South, Midwest, East Coast, and Appalachian regions all have an increase in cases.
Most commonly carried by rats and other rodents, the leptospira bacteria can also be carried by almost any mammal, including humans. Dogs that are infected or have recovered from being carriers could spread the infection.
The most common method of transmission involves ingesting contaminated food or urine from rodents, but some strains of the bacteria can also pass through thin or damaged skin. Dogs swimming in contaminated water, for instance, run the risk of contracting an infection through their skin. From the time of infection until the onset of clinical signs, the incubation period is typically four to twelve days.
FAQ
How common is leptospirosis in vaccinated dogs?
Leptospirosis is rare where widespread dog vaccination is practiced, so how common is it? However, outbreaks of the illness are still occasionally observed because vaccines only provide protection against the four most common serovars of Leptospira. Leptospirosis is more common in rural, wooded areas.
How do you know if your dog has leptospirosis?
- Fever.
- Vomiting.
- Abdominal pain.
- Diarrhea.
- Refusal to eat.
- Severe weakness and depression.
- Stiffness.
- Severe muscle pain.
How long does leptospirosis vaccine last in dogs?
Therefore, it was determined that a duration of immunity of one year against infection with both serovars can be obtained using this vaccine and this vaccination schedule.
How easy is it for a dog to get leptospirosis?
Dogs can contract leptospirosis and become infected if their mucous membranes (or skin with any wound, such as a cut or scrape) come in contact with contaminated urine, soil, water, food, or bedding; through a bite from an infected animal; by consuming contaminated tissues or carcasses; or, very rarely, through breathing infected bodily fluids.