Cases of Leptospirosis Being Reported Among Area Dogs

Submitted by the village of Palatine

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals, including your pets. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. The clinical signs of leptospirosis in dogs vary and are nonspecific. Sometimes pets do not have any symptoms. Here are some of the common clinical signs have been reported in dogs. These include:

• Fever
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Refusal to eat
• Severe weakness and depression
• Stiffness
• Severe muscle pain
• Inability to have puppies

Generally younger animals are more seriously affected than older animals. You should take your dog to the vet immediately if they are experiencing any of the above symptoms.

If your pet has been confirmed by your veterinarian as having leptospirosis, the appropriate action to take will depend on the nature of contact with your pet. Normal daily activities with your pet will not put you at high risk for leptospirosis infection. Types of contacts that are considered to be high risk include direct or indirect contact with urine, blood, and tissues of your pet while they are infected in addition to assisting in the delivery of newborns from an infected animal.

If you have had these types of high-risk contacts with your pet during the time of its infection, inform your physician. You should also see your physician if you begin to experience things such as a fever, muscle aches, and headaches within 3 weeks after a high-risk exposure. Tests can be performed to see if you have this disease.

Leptospirosis is treatable with antibiotics. If an animal is treated early, it may recover more rapidly and any organ damage may be less severe. Other treatment methods, such as dialysis and hydration therapy may be required.

The time between exposure to the bacteria and development of disease is usually 5 to 14 days, but can be as short as a few days or as long as 30 days or more. In some instances, shedding of leptospires in the urine may persist for as long as 3 months after infection as a result of inadequate or lack of treatment.

Here are some tips to help prevent Leptospirosis infection in your pets:

• Keep rodent problems (rats, mice, or other animal pests) under control, as they can carry and spread the bacteria that causes this disease.
• Get your pet vaccinated against leptospirosis. However, the vaccine does not provide 100% because there are many strains (types) of leptospires (the bacteria that causes Leptospirosis) and the vaccine does not provide immunity against all strains. It is important to get your pet vaccinated again even if it gets leptospirosis because it can still get infected with a different strain of leptospires.

For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website by clicking here.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)