Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Healthy dogs in Upper Bavaria can shed leptospires in urine and have
By Llewellyn, Julia-Rebecca et al.·Published in Berliner und Munchener tierarztliche Wochenschrift·2016·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Urinary shedding of leptospires and presence of Leptospira antibodies in healthy dogs from Upper Bavaria.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 200 healthy dogs in Upper Bavaria was tested for leptospirosis, a disease that can affect both pets and humans. Surprisingly, three dogs were found to be shedding leptospires, which are the bacteria that cause this illness, despite being vaccinated against some strains. This means that even vaccinated dogs can still pose a risk of spreading the bacteria. The study highlights the importance of good hygiene practices when handling dog urine and suggests that vaccines should cover a wider range of leptospire types to prevent shedding.
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Abstract
Leptospirosis is classified as a re-emerging zoonotic disease with global impor- tance. The aim of this study was to determine urinary shedding of leptospires in healthy dogs and to identify the shedded leptospire species. Furthermore, antibody presence against leptospires was evaluated. In a prospective study urine samples of 200 healthy dogs from Upper Bavaria were randomly collected and evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specific for the lipL32 gene of pathogenic Leptospira (L) spp. Positive samples were further character- ized via multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to identify the Leptospira species. Microagglutination test (MAT) was performed to determine serum antibody titers. Three of 200 urine samples were found to be PCR-positive resulting in a urinary shedding prevalence of 1.5% (95% confidence interval 0.3-4.5%). All three dogs had been vaccinated before with a bivalent vaccine, covering the serogroups Canicola and lcterohaemorrhagiae. One dog shed leptospires of the species L. borgpetersenii, and two of the species L. interrogans. Of all dogs, 17.0% had antibody titers ≥ 1:100, and 3.5% titers ≥ 1:400 to serovars of non-vaccinal sero- groups. Healthy dogs that shed leptospires represent a possible risk for humans and other animals. The study emphasizes the importance of general hygiene measures in veterinary practice while handling urine of all dogs, and the use of vaccines that protect against a broader range of serogroups and that prevent urinary shedding.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27344919/