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Source:
Dr. Kenneth Harkin, 785-532-5690
News release prepared by: Cheryl May, 785-532-6415, may@k-state.edu
Tuesday,
July 25, 2006
VETERINARIANS
SEE MORE CASES OF LEPTOSPIROSIS IN WARM, WET WEATHER
MANHATTAN
-- If your dog is in the wrong place at the wrong time, its
life could be in danger from exposure to leptospirosis.
Because
many veterinarians see only one or two cases of leptospirosis each
year, it is easy to miss the diagnosis.
Dr.
Kenneth Harkin, a veterinarian at Kansas State University's Veterinary
Medical Teaching Hospital, suggests dog owners ask their veterinarian
for a lepto test if the dog shows:
*
unexplained fever
* increased thirst and urination
* lumbar (back) pain
or
if the dog is diagnosed with:
*
kidney failure
* liver failure
* uveitis (inflammation of the eye)
There
are a number of tests for lepto. Harkin said the "gold standard"
is a serological test, the microscopic agglutination test, which
is used by all veterinary diagnostic laboratories.
Harkin,
one of the nation's foremost experts on leptospirosis, developed
the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test that can identify infection
in some cases before they are serologically positive.
He
said it is important to find a lab experienced in doing the PCR
test. Other tests for lepto include the fluorescent antibody test
and culture. The culture takes at least two weeks. The fluorescent
antibody test and culture are not recommended for routine diagnostics.
There
are numerous strains of leptospirosis and a vaccination has been
available for two of them for 30 years. Today there is a newer vaccination
that protects against four of the most common strains of lepto,
and is said to cause fewer side effects. Harkin recommends vaccinating
dogs against leptospirosis.
"Most
cases result from contact with urine in contaminated water,"
Harkin said.
If
your dog drinks from a contaminated pond, or has a cut on its foot
and walks through a contaminated puddle of standing water, the dog
can become infected.
Rainy
weather provides conditions ideal for lepto, which can live in moist
soil for up to 120 days.
A
research study conducted by Harkin and colleagues found that housing
developments that encroach on wildlife habitat lead to greater exposure
of dogs to lepto carried by wildlife. Raccoons, possums, voles and
rats are reservoirs of disease.
"This
exposure is probably greater during the warm months of late spring
through early fall, because of increased time spent outdoors by
dogs," Harkin said.
A
retrospective study of 1.8 million dogs examined at 22 veterinary
teaching hospitals showed a significant increase in lepto in the
U.S. and Canada since 1983. Male dogs of working and herding breeds
were at greater risk.
There
is no reason to panic, Harkin said. If you identify lepto early,
it can be cured with antibiotics.
Harkin's
research found that German shepherd dogs contract lepto in greater
proportion than other breeds.
"German
shepherd dogs seem uniquely susceptible to the disease." Harkin
said. "For this reason, I recommend that all German shepherds
be vaccinated regularly for leptospirosis."
SIDEBAR:
What to do if your dog has leptospirosis
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