When North Portland resident Deanna Cecotti’s greyhound, Birdie, stopped eating in November 2011, Cecotti began to worry. After an appetite stimulant didn’t even tempt her to eat even deli turkey meat, Cecotti knew something was very wrong.
Luckily, her veterinarian suspected Leptospirosis, a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection that can be difficult to detect. The most common symptoms– lethargy, loss of appetite and vomiting – can be easily mistaken for other illnesses.
The fact that Birdie’s blood work suggested kidney disease prompted Dr. Scott Shuler of Northwest Neighborhood Veterinary Hospital to test for the disease. He also began treatment immediately.
The dog required 24-hour veterinary care for 10 days, adding up to more than $6,000.
Cecotti was shocked. She had read about Lepto, but felt Birdie was safe because she didn’t engage in any of the typical risk factors. She always walked on leash, had never been to a dog park or jumped in a pond.
The disease is transmitted by either direct or indirect contact with the urine of an infected animal, or muddy soil, fresh or ocean water contaminated with infected urine.
In the United States, there are six serovars (strains) that sicken dogs.
Exposure occurs through small cuts on the skin or mucus membranes.
It’s most commonly spread during the rainy season; dogs can get it from ponds, puddles or muddy dog parks. Swimming or playing in water can increase risk.
Leptospirosis is considered to be the common and widespread zoonotic (transmissible to humans) infection in the world, says Portland-area veterinarian Dr. Sharon Grayzel, who conducted a study on Lepto with Dr. Emilio DeBess and the Oregon Health Authority.
Most cases occur in tropical countries since the bacteria thrive in warm, humid conditions.
The disease also seems to be re-emerging in Oregon.
“It has steadily been going up since 2009,” says DeBess, Oregon’s public health veterinarian.
Bethany Family Pet Clinic in Northwest Portland saw eight cases of Leptospirosis between October 2010 and May 2012.
The clinic staff began testing more dogs after confirming one positive case, since the state was providing free testing at the time, says Dr. Mark Norman.
Suspecting that it could be transmitted by infected raccoons in their community, the clinic encouraged area dog owners to vaccinate. The clinic hasn’t seen any cases since.
Aside from raccoons, rats, opossums, skunks, and mice can all serve as hosts. A study in Multnomah County conducted by DeBess and Multnomah County tested rats for the disease at Oregon State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The study found that nearly 15 percent of rats tested positive for the disease.
Researchers also point to Leptospirosis for the increase in California sea lion strandings along the Oregon coast in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, 44 percent tested positive for Lepto and in 2010, 71 percent tested positive for the disease.
Treatment for Lepto requires a two-week course of doxycycline. If a dog doesn’t complete the full two weeks, it can still shed the bacteria for up to three months, putting its owner and other dogs at risk, Grayzel says.
Infected canines may also need to be treated for potential kidney or liver failure, which isn’t cheap.
Birdie was treated for a total of about two weeks, and it took nearly three months to gain back the weight she lost and get her kidney values back to normal.
DeBess believes the disease is coming back because people stopped vaccinating for Leptospirosis as often, as the vaccine became associated with adverse reactions. The vaccine has been blamed for pain and swelling, vomiting, hives and occasional anaphylaxis.
“With that in mind, I think a lot of veterinarians were rightfully concerned as to whether to vaccinate animals against Lepto,” he says.
Around the year 2000, veterinarians were also beginning to question whether they were over-vaccinating in general and began to vaccinate dogs less frequently, Shuler says. Many stopped vaccinating for Lepto almost entirely.
Then some newer vaccines came out on the market.
“The new vaccines are more protective and less likely to cause adverse reactions, so I’m not as hesitant to give it,” he says.
Grayzel’s research revealed that only one dog out of a subset of 36 canine Lepto cases in her survey was current on its Leptospirosis vaccine; the rest had not been vaccinated.
DeBess hopes that the improved vaccines and the fact that Leptospirosis can be spread to humans will encourage more dog owners to protect their pets against the disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 100 to 200 cases of human Leptospirosis infection occur each year in the United States, most of which are in Hawaii.
- While the there are usually only between 0 and one cases in Oregon each year, Grayzel says, it can be fatal. About 5 to 15 percent of people with a severe form of the disease will die of it (including Andy Holmes, who won two Olympic gold medals for rowing), although 85 percent of all infections are mild.
In humans, Lepto can feel like the flu. Symptoms include severe headaches, fever, muscle pain, abdominal pain, and chills.
Cecotti will probably never know how Birdie got sick, but she made sure all three of her dogs get vaccinated from now on.
“It’s one of those experiences that you think, ‘This wouldn’t happen to you,’” she says.
Cases of canine Leptospirosis in Oregon:
- 2012: 26 reported cases
- 2011: 20 cases
- 2010: 21 cases
- 2009: 14 cases
Between 2007 and 2011, there were 113 total cases of dogs with Lepto.
--Dr. Emilio DeBess; Dr. Sharon Grayzel
Exposure risk for Leptospirosis in dogs:
- Dogs may contract Leptospirosis by swimming in contaminated water, having contact with wildlife or rodents, or traveling.
- Dogs of all size, age and gender seem equally at risk.
- Dogs living in rural areas don’t seem to be more prone than those living in the city.
Risk factors for Leptospirosis in humans:
- Humans can contract the disease through gardening or participating in water sports, such as kayaking, wind surfing or swimming.
- People who work in certain occupations are also prone to it, such as veterinarians, farmers, sewer workers or miners.
Leptospirosis in humans is fatal in 5 to 15 percent of severe cases. A story in Saturday's Living section mischaracterized how often the disease is fatal.