21/05/2024
Infectious Disease Alert.
It is with a heavy heart that we report that a positive case of Leptospirosis has recently been diagnosed in the Clarence Valley.
Leptospirosis is a disease caused by spiral-shaped bacteria called spirochetes, which are carried by a variety of animals, including cows, rats, mice and wildlife. Leptospires live best in warm, slow-moving water such as after heavy rains or flooding. After the water clears, they contaminate soil for many months. Classically, infection of dogs and humans stems from the urine of infected animals getting into environmental water. Leptospirosis is a common human disease in tropical areas, especially where rice is farmed and rats infest the paddies.
Dogs can become infected by leptospires when irritated or cut skin comes into contact with infected urine or water contaminated with infected urine, or through drinking infected water. Alternatively, bite wounds, exposure to reproductive secretions, and even eating infected tissues can transmit this infection. The organisms quickly spread through the bloodstream, leading first to inflaming the blood vessels: fever, abnormal bleeding, abnormal bruising and tissue edema appear after an approximately 7-day incubation period. By 2 weeks post-infection, the leptospires have set up shop in the kidneys where they continue to generate inflammation, pain, and potentially total kidney failure with their inability to produce urine. Some serovars also go to the liver and generate inflammation there, though the liver disease is generally not as severe as that of the kidney. In some cases, the disease course will be much faster than this - these peracute cases can show significant decline and even death within a few days.
Many patients will respond to antibiotics and fluid therapy, however, there are always a subset of patients that contract much more severe disease. Despite medication, some patients will succumb to liver and kidney failure.
Vaccination will protect against SOME strains of Lepto, but not all. Unfortunately stocks of the vaccine have been very patchy and unreliable over the last few years - we truly hope that this situation is resolving and that a more reliable supply will be available from here moving forward.
The patient we recently treated and fell in love with lived near Gulmarrad, and the image accompanying this photo is not of our patient.
We urge ALL humans to be cautious around standing water. Do not allow your dog to drink from puddles or standing water, and do not allow yourself or your children to come into contact with standing water.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to give us a call on 6646 9966
