What is Canine Leptosporosis?
This is a spirochete or bacteria that affects the urinary tract and can be deadly. There are many different "serovars" or types of Leptosporosis. The more common ones are typically included in vaccines but infection from other serovars is still a possibility. The disease is carried by many kinds of mammals but especially livestock and is even infectious to humans. the spirochetes like stagnant or slow-moving water. Fever, shivering , and generalized muscle tenderness are the first clinical signs. Then, vominting, dehydration, and potential kidney and liver failure can occur. Fluid replacement and antibiotics are the basis for treatment of leptosporosis. The vaccines for the different serovars are protective, but there are so many serovars that it would be impractical to vaccinate for all of them (nor are there vaccines avaialbe for all of them), Leptosporosis is a very uncommon disease in dogs. |