Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How vets diagnose acute leptospirosis in dogs
By Paz, Lucas Nogueira et al.·Published in Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases·2021·Postgraduate Program in Animal Science in Tropics - Federal University of Bahia, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Multidisciplinary approach in the diagnosis of acute leptospirosis in dogs naturally infected by Leptospira interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae: A prospective study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 57 dogs showing symptoms of leptospirosis, such as fever and kidney issues, were tested for a bacterial infection caused by Leptospira. Out of these, 38 dogs were confirmed to have the infection through urine or blood tests. Interestingly, about one-third of the infected dogs had been vaccinated against leptospirosis. The study found that signs of kidney damage, like high levels of waste products in the blood and protein in the urine, were strong indicators of the disease. A thorough examination of the dogs' kidneys revealed significant damage, which can help veterinarians diagnose and treat leptospirosis more effectively.
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Abstract
Leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution, is caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. In dogs, this disease is frequently misdiagnosed. Few studies have attempted to associate the detection of Leptospira spp. infection with clinicopathological and renal histopathological findings using a multidisciplinary approach. The present study isolated and characterized Leptospira spp. obtained from naturally infected dogs and described relevant clinical and histopathological findings. Blood and urine were collected from 57 dogs with clinical symptomatology suggestive of leptospirosis; 38 cases were confirmed by PCR in urine or by culture or microscopic agglutination testing (titers ≥800). A total of 12 strains of pathogenic Leptospira were isolated from the studied dogs (seven in blood, four in urine and one in both blood and urine samples). All isolates were characterized as Leptospira interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae. Of the confirmed cases, almost one-third of the animals had been vaccinated. Our analysis of laboratory testing revealed that azotemia and proteinuria were statistically significant predictors of infection. The main histopathological findings seen in kidney tissues were necrosis, degeneration, tubular regeneration, mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate and congestion. A multidisciplinary approach involving clinicopathological and histopathological characterization of renal involvement can aid in the identification of acute leptospirosis infection.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34091280/