US Dog Owners Warned Against Widespread Deadly Bacterial Illness

A veterinarian has warned dog owners to get their pets vaccinated against a widespread, potentially fatal bacterial illness called leptospirosis.

"It's heartbreaking when we see these cases," Emmanuelle Butty, said in a statement. "This is largely because the illness has a vaccination available, meaning the dogs that become ill are usually the ones who have not been immunized."

Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by bacteria called leptospira which can be passed on to animals and humans.

Symptoms in dogs can range from a fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, lack of appetite, diarrhea and depression. However the symptoms vary from dog to dog, Butty warns, meaning an official diagnosis can only be reached at the vet.

Severe cases of leptospirosis can lead to kidney failure and even death in extreme cases, meaning it is essential for dog owners to get it checked.

Butty, an assistant clinical professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts university in Massachusetts, has warned that the illness is quite "prevalent" in New England, with spring and fall being the most common times of year to contract it.

Luckily, antibiotics can effectively treat the disease in most cases, however some dogs may come away with complications, the statement from the university reports.

Butty recently worked on a Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine study that documented how well dialysis saves dogs suffering kidney problems due to the disease: of 22 dogs, 16 recovered.

"All of them would have died without dialysis because their kidneys were completely shut down," Butty said. "But almost 75 percent of them were able to get out of the hospital. Even if things look really bad, there is a decent chance we will be able to save this animal. If we buy time we have a chance that the body will recover."

The results also showed that recovery for dogs was less likely if there were multiple organs affected by the disease.

Leptospirosis is a risk to every dog that has access to the outdoors, according to the university. Most will catch it from drinking infected water from lakes or puddles.

"We have a good way to prevent the disease and to prevent the most severe cases of the disease, and that is the vaccine," Butty said.

Dogs will rarely experience reactions to the vaccine, but may feel a bit under the weather for a day or two, the university reports.

"I'll take the vaccine reaction any day over ending up on dialysis because of complete kidney failure," Butty continued. "Dogs need to be vaccinated."

Dialysis treatment, while effective, is extremely expensive. And while it can save a life, the dogs could be left with lifelong health effects from the kidney complications.

"It's sad when dogs have chronic kidney disease at one or two years old," Butty said in the statement. "Their life span is going to be reduced significantly."

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