Leptospirosis…..how can my dog contract this?
Leptospirosis is a disease of worldwide significance that infects both animals and humans. The scientific name of the infecting organism is Leptospira interrogans sensu lato. While cats can be infected, they rarely show signs of disease. The disease is much more of a problem in dogs, people, and livestock.
Transmission
Leptospirosis is transmitted between animals through contact with infected urine; veneral and placental transfer; bite wounds; or the ingestion of infected tissue. Indirect transmission occurs through exposure of susceptible animals to contaminated water sources, food, or even bedding. Stagnant water provides a suitable habitat for Leptospira. As a result, disease outbreaks often increase during periods of flooding. In dry areas infections are more common around water sources.
Freezing greatly reduces the survival of the organism in the environment. This explains why infections are more common in summer and fall and why the infection is more prevalent in temperate areas.
Infection
Leptospira bacteria penetrate mucous membranes or abraded skin and multiply rapidly upon entering the blood system. From there they spread to other tissues including the kidneys,liver, spleen, nervous system, eyes, and genital tract. As the body fights the infection, the organism is cleared from most organs, but they may remain in the kidneys and be shed for weeks or months in the urine.
Symptoms
In acute infections a fever of 103-104°, shivering, and muscle tenderness are the first signs. Then vomiting and rapid dehydration may develop. Severely infected dogs may develop hypothermia and become depressed and die before kidney or liver failure has a chance to develop.
In subacute infections, the animal usually develops a fever, anorexia, vomiting, dehydration, and increased thirst. The dog may be reluctant to move due to muscle or kidney pain. Animals with liver involvement may develop a yellowing of the skin. Dogs that develop kidney or liver involvement may begin to show improvement in organ function after 2 to 3 weeks or they may develop kidney failure. Despite the possibility of severe infection and death, the majority of leptospiral infections in dogs are chronic or subclinical. Dogs that become chronically infected may show no outward signs, but may intermittently shed bacteria in the urine for months or years.
Diagnosis
A positive diagnosis can be made through a blood test. Acutely infected or chronically infected dogs will most likely be shedding Leptospira organisms in their urine. It is possible toculture a urine sample and get a positive diagnosis. However, because of intermittent shedding and bacterial contamination this is not always the best way to diagnose the disease.
Treatment
Treatment consists of antibiotics, fluid replacement, and controlling the vomiting and the problems associated with the corresponding kidney or liver infections. Penicillin, or one of its derivatives is the antibiotic of choice for treating the initial infection. IV fluids are given to rehydrate the animal and help with the damage done to the kidneys.
Vaccination and Prevention
Prevention involves keeping pets out of contact with contaminated water sources, or wildlife reservoirs. Humans can contract leptospirosis and any potentially infected animal should be handled very carefully to avoid human exposure.
There are currently many different vaccines available on the market. The ones currently available for dogs are chemically inactivated (killed) whole culture vaccine, which unfortunately, make them much more likely to cause vaccine reactions as opposed to most viral vaccines.
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Canine Parvovirus
Although vaccinations have decreased the number of dogs seen with this sometimes fatal disease this is a reminder to everyone who went through the 70’s and 80’s massive outbreaks of this disease and why vaccines do help control these outbreaks.
Parvovirus is a highly contagious virus that attacks the intestines and causes sloughing of the inner layers of the intestine. The most common symptoms of this disease (the “intestinal form”) are vomiting and diarrhea. Another less common form, the “cardiac form”, occurs in very young pups (less than 8 weeks of age) and attacks the heart muscle, often resulting in sudden death.
Parvovirus is contagious to dogs only—not to cats or people. Any age, breed, or sex of dog could be affected by parvovirus. However, infection with parvovirus does not automatically mean illness. Several factors such as age, environment, stress, parasites, and general health status of each individual dog infected could affect the severity of the disease. The degree of illness could range from very mild to unapparent to very severe, often resulting in death. The disease is usually more severe in young dogs (less than 6 months of age), old dogs, and for some reason black and tan dogs like rotti’s or shepherd or dobermans.
Fecal/oral transmission is how this disease is spread. Now this doesn’t mean that your pet actually has to go outside and eat another dogs stool. Your dog could just walk in the park, contact the virus on the grass and then lick his paws when he gets home. Or you could bring it home on your shoes or hands and your dog could lick those. Parvovirus is very difficult to "kill" in the enviroment and can infect susceptible dogs for as long as 6 months once shed in the stool.
Clinical signs:
Cardiac form (less than 8 weeks of age):
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Sudden death
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Crying, difficulty breathing, gasping for breath
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Extreme depression
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Weakness
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Unwillingness to nurse
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Irregular heartbeat
Intestinal form (any age dog affected, but more severe in puppies):
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Depression
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Loss of appetite
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Fever (usually above 40C)
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Vomiting with or without blood
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Diarrhea with or without blood (more serious if blood present)
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Low white blood cell count (due to immunosuppression)
Treatment is aimed at maintaining the normal body composition and preventing secondary bacterial infection. Because this is a virus, there is NO CURE. Death from parvovirus results from dehydration, overwhelming secondary bacterial infection, blood loss from intestinal hemorrhage, or heart attack from invasion of the heart muscle by the virus.
Early FLUID THERAPY is the most important factor in treating dogs with parvovirus infection. The body is normally about 80% water. Life is NOT possible when 12-15% of the normal body fluids are lost. Intravenous fluids both rehydrate the body and nourish the sick dog.
Additional treatment includes prevention of secondary bacterial infection and drugs to control vomiting and diarrhea. No food or water is given while the dog is vomiting. Repeated laboratory tests are often necessary to monitor your pet’s white blood cell count and state of hydration.
Prevention/Control of parvovirus by sanitation measures alone is extremely difficult because the virus is such a resistant, hardy organism and because it is so easily spread. Contact with other dogs,and especially their stool, should be minimized. Bleach diluted one part to 30 parts water can be used to clean kennels, floors etc in a house or yard that had a dog infected with parvovirus. Vaccinating your dog at the proper intervals will help to minimize risk and contraction of the disease as well.
Guidelines for young puppies:
1. Do not take the puppy to the front yard, park, for a walk around the block, or to pet stores. These are all places where infected dogs have been or presently are.
2. Only have the puppy around adult dogs that YOU KNOW are current on vaccinations. There should be no contact with stray dogs or dogs that you are not sure of.
3. Do not let the puppy be exposed to any other puppies. These pups could be incubating the disease (and therefore be contagious) without showing signs of illness.
4. Always wash your hands after handling any dog.
Vaccinations are the most effective preventive measure for canine parvovirus disease. A properly immunized dog will have circulating antibodies in the blood that will destroy parvovirus following exposure. Dogs remain HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE to parvo until 2-4 weeks after the last injection of the immunization series.
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Arthritis in Dogs
While many humans suffer from arthritis man’s best friend can develop arthritis as well. Arthritis can be quite debilitating and prevent your dog from enjoying even the simple pleasures of going for a walk with you around the block.
What is arthritis and what causes the pain?
Arthritis is a general term for abnormal changes in joints. A joint is a location at which two bones make contact. The surfaces of the two bones at the joint are covered in cartilage. Cartilage is a rubbery, fibrous, dense connective tissue that is found between bones and permits smooth movement of joints. When the cartilage starts to wear the bony layer beneath it is exposed. The joint will then become inflamed and the tissues of the joint stiffen. Calcium deposits develop and the nerves send pain signals to the brain.
Arthritis can result from injury, infection, congenital defects, or ongoing stress on the joints. Although arthritis can occur in any joint, for many of our four legged friends the most commonly affected joints are the hip, elbow and knee joints.
What are the clinical signs of arthritis?
Unfortunately our furry friends can’t tell us when they are in pain so it is up to you, the owner, to be able to identify the signs of pain in your pet. Some of the common indicators of arthritic pain in dogs are:
- Changes in gait
- Reluctance to play or walk
- Difficulty in lying or getting up, inability to get comfortable
- Intermittent lameness
- Constant grooming in an area over a joint
How is arthritis diagnosed?
A trip to the veterinarian is the first step in diagnosis. Your veterinarian will palpate the joints for range of motion, signs of pain, and joint noise. He may then ask to x ray your dog. Once the radiographs are taken the veterinarian will examine them for signs of abnormalities and make recommendations for pain control or treatment.
How can arthritis pain be treated controlled?
Together with your veterinarian you can make your pet much more happy and comfortable. There are a number of medications that can be given to decrease the inflammation and pain. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) are a common medication used to help control the inflammation and pain. Prior to placing your pet on this type of medication your veterinarian may recommend a blood test to rule out kidney or liver problems. As well, most veterinarians will re-test every six months to a year to ensure that no organ damage is being done.
The most important thing to remember when treating your pet for arthritis is that dogs metabolize medications differently than humans do. Many of the medications that humans take for arthritis can be quite dangerous. Acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol), for example, has been associated with liver damage in dogs. And ibuprophen (e.g. Advil) has been reported to cause gastro-intestinal bleeding.
A more holistic, and somewhat safer, approach to aiding in the relief of pain from arthritis is the use of glucosamine. Glucosamine builds and maintains cartilage, tendons and other connective tissues in the body by acting as a building block for these materials and inhibiting enzymes that destroy cartilage. Glucosamine can be used prior to any signs of arthritis.
Don’t forget an exercise and weight management program is very important to the control of arthritis. Simply reducing the dog’s weight to a reasonable level may cause noticeable changes in the dog’s activity and mobility. Exercise is important to keep the joints flexible and moving.
Tags: dog, veterinary
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Let me introduce myself……..
My name is Lorraine and I have been an animal health technologist for 15 years. I have worked in various veterinary clinics in Canada and thought that I would use this forum to bring information to people about and for their pets. I hope you like the site and find it and the information useful. Thanks for visiting.
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