Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Usefulness of dark field microscopy after differential centrifugation in the early diagnosis of leptospirosis in dog and its human contacts.
- Journal:
- Indian journal of medical sciences
- Year:
- 1997
- Authors:
- Chandrasekaran, S & Pankajalakshmi, V V
- Affiliation:
- Institute of Microbiology
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
In a study involving police dogs, researchers used a special microscope technique to find a bacteria called leptospira in the blood of two out of three dogs. One of these dogs had a fever, while the other showed no symptoms. Unfortunately, one dog that died had jaundice but did not show leptospira in its urine. Among the human contacts of these dogs, 11 out of 21 tested positive for the bacteria, with one child experiencing jaundice and another having a fever, while others had mild symptoms like headaches. The study concluded that this microscopic technique can help diagnose leptospirosis early, which may prevent serious complications like jaundice.
Abstract
1. We found leptospira in the blood of two out of three police dogs by dark field microscopic examination after high speed centrifugation. One dog had fever and the other was asymptomatic. Leptospira could not be seen in the urine of one police dog which died of jaundice. 11 out of 21 human contacts were found to be positive for leptospira after low speed centrifugation and 5 after high speed centrifugation. One child had jaundice and an another child had fever. Others had mild symptoms of headache to none. Dark field microscopy after differential centrifugation is useful in the early diagnosis of leptospirosis and thereby could prevent later complications like jaundice.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9355702/