Leptospirosis Vs. The Lepto Vaccine debate has carried on as long as I have been in the breed of Weimaraners..... 18 plus Years!
The debate about vaccines, maternal antibodies and titer testing continues to be a debate between breeders and vets alike. When do we vaccinate, or don’t we, or simply titer test. Timing is the key component in all these venues as well as cost association.
Those of you who have experienced the total heartache of an infectious disease, I’m sure you were left wondering why! If it was that simple we wouldn’t be reading this today.
Leptospirosis is generally pretty rare in most parts of the country. Most vets likely won’t see it in their career more than once or at ALL. But we do know now that the incidence levels are rising.
This disease is generally transmitted through the flesh of an infected animal, the urine of the asymptomatic or affected animal, as well as infected water. Symptoms include lethargy, vomiting, loose stool, dehydration, and at times Jaundice or “yellowing”. If a blood test was drawn on an animal that was infected, you would notice an elevated WBC as well as ALT, ALP, AST, billirubin (Acute Kidney Failure).
Many times havoc strikes in the middle of the night. ER vets presented with these symptoms will be left scratching their heads. The easiest diagnosis with these symptoms are generally toxins ingestion or “kidney failure“ due to structure or function!
”Our story is sad, but we hope through our tragedy we can share so others can learn”
Seven week stack photos were being done when Puppy A was found to be exhibiting lethargy and some mild tummy issues. It was presumably thought Puppy A might just be suffering from some dietary indiscretion, puppies that age put everything in their mouths. Puppy A was not interested in bait, preferred to curl up and go to sleep. The breeder however was not to worried at that point. Puppy A ate her dinner and unfortunately could not keep it down. 24 hours later Puppy A was no better, off to the vet they go. Vitals checked out, however the blood work was off the charts. I stayed up throughout the night from California deliberating with the ER vets in Colorado. We had 3 possibilities we were looking at; the first one the ER vet jumped to was a nonfunctional or small kidneys, second being toxins, and lastly distemper or lepto. We started from the top, blood work up, hooking the baby up to fluids. Puppy A quickly went downhill within the next 3-5 hours puppy was "clinically yellow and dependent on oxygen. They had the ultrasound scheduled for the morning which showed adequate liver/kidney conformation/function. A ELISA LeptoSnap test was done and came back negative. We also opted for a LeptoPCR test for blood DNA (based on the swift research I did after getting all the information from the vet), the toxins we could not confirm. By 9 am Puppy A was gone and we were all left wondering what toxin could have caused this. Devastated and confused on how what once was a beautiful, happy, full of grit puppy could crash so hard and so fast.
Shortly after we all reviewed medical documentation that the ER vet included, the breeder in need of answers came across what appeared to be “bird seed” in his yard that appeared to be growing fungus. A call to the vet was made and she confirmed that could in fact have a toxic and deathly result on a 7 week old puppy. All of the other puppies received a standard go home wellness check 2 days later and all appeared normal, The wellness checks were conducted in the breeders home.
My daughter, a puppy buyer and I arrived the day following the wellness checks. We had a handler come by for what was to be our final evaluations. You Know "The show must go on!".
This should be a exciting time for breeders and puppy people alike, but what we didn’t know is that it wasn’t over yet. 2 puppies went home that weekend and clinically still not affected to this day. 1 day post evaluations we all get a message that Puppy B had begun to have some loose stool. The breeder believed it was due to the “cream cheese” we used to stack puppies.... The breeder after speaking to the rest of us about the concern decided it was best to take the pup in. Puppy B was given "cerenia" and " fluids" and sent home. The next day, 7 days post Puppy A’s death, the phone call comes... Puppy A was positive for Lepto via Leptospira spp RealPCR-Blood, LeptoPCR DNA test!!! There are 20 different species , and more than 250 different Serovars!
Leptospirosis is an infectious disease that causes serious illness in dogs, other animals, and people. The disease is caused by spiral-shaped bacteria called leptospires that live in water or warm wet soil.
Initial signs of leptospirosis include fever, lethargy, and lack of appetite. Left untreated, it can develop into a more severe, life-threatening illness that affects the kidneys, liver, brain, lungs, and heart.
The LeptoPCR test took 6 Days to get the result.
Puppy B was rushed into the vet no more than 24 hours past her initial “loose stool”. Again, blood work was done and it does not look good. So now all the puppies are taken in and blood work is completed. One other puppy was pushing the normal range and the decision was made that the most humane thing to do was to euthanize Puppy B and put efforts into the rest. Puppy C's billirubin was four times what the normal range should be. Now knowing what it was, Puppy C was able to be hospitalized and treated accordingly. Puppy C two weeks post initial findings was almost back to normal. The remaining 7 puppies were treated with a 14 day regimen of Clavamox and held back a total of 30 days from the positive LeptoPCR test on Puppy A. The Dam of the pups showed a slight increase in blood work. Dam and all remaining pups were immediately started on “Clavamox“. The two pups that went to new homes prior to confirmation of the diagnosis received blood work and LeptoPCR testing as well as being put on Doxycycline. Luckily, the two pups that went home came back normal blood work and negative LeptoPCR. I tested prior to medication and post, resulting in Negative Lepto.
Based on the 2010 ACVIM Consensus Statement on Leptospirosis, doxycycline at 5 mg/kg PO or IV q 12 hours for 2 weeks is the treatment of choice as it will eliminate the renal carrier state, unlike penicillins. The length of treatment still remains unknown at this time. All tests samples must be collected prior to antibiotic therapy, treatment should NOT be withheld while waiting for results of testing. "if we ONLY knew then what we know now"
Now what? Who knew that Leptospirosis was an issue, especially in a litter of puppies? What we do know now, is that if anyone is so unlucky to have a puppy come in contact with leptospirosis, the only way to survive is when blood panels are not indicative of Kidney Failure and Doxycycline is administered quickly, even before a positive test result.
Who says treating Leptospirosis is “easier"? We all did because that’s what we’ve been taught. The fact is Leptospirosis happened in a residential neighborhood, in a track style home environment, with a fully maintained front yard and back yard! In the articles I have read during the last several weeks, all have spoken about Leptospirosis being on the rise. I recently have observed several posts on Facebook about positive diagnoses. According to My reproductive vet, the vaccines are now much safer than it used to be. Some articles spoke about getting supportive care while being vaccinated, if a reaction is a concern. The million dollar question would be if the recommended vaccine (The four-Serovar) only covers 4 strains, is it worth it? I believe if an animal is vaccinated and should come into contact with another strain they can absolutely become infected. However, it is very likely that it could be a moderate case. I believe that we know how reactive our dogs can be to this vaccine, however I never fully understood how bad Lepto could be. Before we vaccinate we should all do research in our respective areas to find out what strains have been detected and verify that to the actual vaccine itself. Hindsight is, the ELISA snap test (in Clinic) licensed by the USDA for detection of Leptospira spp anitibodies has been noted to only show positive results much later in a affected dog . With a LeptoPCR test being the one of the more effective measures to trace Lepto in a earlier stage (preferably in a un vaccinated dog). Again, it takes 4-6 days to get test results. We clearly have underestimated this zoonotic disease and we all need to do a better job at educating ourselves as well as our puppy people with symptoms we cannot overlook. Puppies don’t have 4-6 days to wait for appropriate treatment.
A message to the “Breeders”, in a time when your fellow Weim lovers and “Breeders” are experiencing pure HELL, the worst possible thing you can do is add more poison. We all have questions, want answers and unfortunately Parvo, Leptospirosis, Distemper, Giardia to name a few HAPPEN. Unfortunate, absolutely! But a means to hurt, gossip, or damage another is not what will educate us to be better breeders. Thank you to our Health Chairman for accurately documenting and providing a positive as well as informative sounding board.
Rebecca Gardea
SilverBay Weimaraners
Written from a stud dog owners perspective!
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