Leptospirosis sp. is a zoonotic risk in humans and other mammals. Leptospirosis is most frequently recognized in cattle, swine, dogs, horses and wildlife. Cats are also being considered as more investigation takes place. Modern canine vaccines offer four serovars of lepto to help protect dogs and the infection risks are not restricted to large-breed dogs, male dogs, or dogs with a predominantly outdoor lifestyle.
In an American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine update to its 2010 statement on leptospirosis in dogs, an expert panel has recommended that all dogs should be vaccinated for leptospirosis annually rather than every three years.
Source: AVMA News, March 18, 2024. Link. Spread through the urine or body fluid of an infected animal, the bacteria can survive in water or soil for weeks to months. Infections occur when Leptospira bacteria are brought into contact with skin abrasions or mucous membranes of human and animals, such as following ingestion of contaminated water or predation. The bacteria do replicate and persist in the environment, especially water-logged soil and can survive freezing.
All dogs are at risk of leptospirosis, regardless of signalment, geographic location, lifestyle, and the time of year.”
INSIGHTS: Although >250 serovars of pathogenic Leptospira are recognized, leptospiral serovars in any given subset are prevalent within a particular region or ecosystem and are associated with one or more maintenance hosts, which serve as reservoirs of infection <Link>. Leptospirosis is maintained in the environment by a variety of carrier animals that typically are not clinically affected but shed organisms in the urine.
An infection a coon hound contracted during a fight with a raccoon was my first exposure to these bacteria. There were other times when starlings transferred the bacteria from a hog farm and infected animals in neighboring locations including a neighbor’s house dog who aborted her puppies as a consequence.