Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Asymptomatic leptospiral infection linked to chronic kidney disease
By Sant'Anna, R et al.·Published in Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases·2019·Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Asymptomatic leptospiral infection is associated with canine chronic kidney disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD) was found to have a higher rate of asymptomatic leptospiral infection compared to healthy dogs. In this study, 75% of the dogs with CKD were shedding the leptospira bacteria in their urine, while only 20.8% of healthy dogs were. This suggests that leptospiral infection could be a contributing factor to CKD in dogs living in areas where the infection is common. Identifying these carriers early can help improve the health of affected dogs and prevent further kidney damage.
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Abstract
Canine leptospirosis is characterized by an acute or chronic disease. Some dogs may act as asymptomatic carriers, keeping the agent in the renal tubules and eliminating it in the urine for an extended period. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is multifactorial and pathophysiology has been widely discussed. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the occurrence of CKD may possibly be associated with asymptomatic leptospiral infection in dogs in endemic regions. Serology and urine PCR were performed in 16 dogs with CKD and 48 healthy dogs from an endemic area. Dogs with CKD were more frequently shedders (75%) than non-CKD animals (20.8%). Therefore, our results demonstrate that asymptomatic leptospiral infection is associated with canine chronic kidney disease and that differential diagnosis is important for dogs from endemic areas presenting CKD. The early detection of shedders, besides the obvious impact on Public health may also help to improve the animal health and avoid the development of CKD.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30711048/