Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rising cases of dog leptospirosis in Switzerland over 10 years
By Major, Andrea et al.·Published in International journal of environmental research and public health·2014·Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Increasing incidence of canine leptospirosis in Switzerland.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A rise in canine leptospirosis, a serious infection that can affect dogs, has been noted in Switzerland over the past decade, with the highest rates occurring in certain areas during warmer months. Symptoms can include kidney issues, breathing problems, liver damage, and bleeding, with a significant number of affected dogs experiencing severe outcomes. The disease is particularly common in dogs living at lower altitudes and is most frequently diagnosed from May to October. Given the high mortality rate associated with liver involvement, pet owners should be vigilant and discuss vaccination and prevention strategies with their veterinarians.
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Abstract
A marked increase in canine leptospirosis was observed in Switzerland over 10 years with a peak incidence of 28.1 diagnosed cases/100,000 dogs/year in the most affected canton. With 95% affected dogs living at altitudes <800 m, the disease presented a seasonal pattern associated with temperature (r2 0.73) and rainfall (r2 0.39), >90% cases being diagnosed between May and October. The increasing yearly incidence however was only weakly correlated with climatic data including number of summer (r2 0.25) or rainy days (r2 0.38). Serovars Australis and Bratislava showed the highest seropositivity rates with 70.5% and 69.1%, respectively. Main clinical manifestations included renal (99.6%), pulmonary (76.7%), hepatic (26.0%), and hemorrhagic syndromes (18.2%), leading to a high mortality rate (43.3%). Similar to the human disease, liver involvement had the strongest association with negative outcome (OR 16.3). Based on these data, canine leptospirosis presents similar features and severity as the human infection for which it therefore can be considered a model. Its re-emergence in a temperate country with very high incidence rates in canines should thus be viewed as a warning and emphasize the need for increased awareness in other species.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25032740/