Leptosporosis in dogs

[RWDVM]

Dear friends:

I wanted to tell you all a little about leptosporosis in dogs, since I have seen several cases of it lately. Lepto is a bacterial infection that affects the kidneys and liver. The bacteria resides in stagnant puddles and pond or lakes, passed via the urine of rodents and racoons. It is therefore endemic throughout the continental U.S. Once the dogs show clinical symptoms - vomiting, depression, anorexia, and jaundice - there is a 50% likelihood that the dog may die even with aggressive treatment.

Luckily vaccines exist for this disease. Unfortunately, many vets are using the 5 in one vaccine that covers only for the older strains of lepto: canicola and ictohemorrhagiae. Amazingly, I have found that some vet's aren't vaccinating for lepto at all! The reality is that the two most common strains encountered now are pomona and grypotyphosa. Be sure to check with your vet and make sure that he/she is vaccinating your dog for all four strains of lepto, as this is a very serious and common disease.

Roger L. Welton, DVM
Veterinarian and webmaster, http://www.askdvm.com