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www.veterinaryworld.orgVeterinary World Vol.1, No.9, September 2008
Leptospirosis continues to be a significantclinical presence in canine medicine. In addition toan increased number of cases, more diverse clinicalpresentations are being recognized. Selection ofappropriate vaccines and inter-pretation ofserological results in the presence of vaccinaltiters are emerging issues in clinical practice.Leptospirosis is caused by Leptospira arethin, filamentous, aerobic spirochete bacteriameasuring approximately 6-12 µm long. More than200 serovars of leptospira were identified worldwide;most of them are pathogenic in dogs including
Leptospira serovars bratislava 
,
canicola,icterohemorrhagica, pomona 
, and
grippotyphosa 
.Infected animals become bacteremic and leptospiraorganisms multiply in the kidney, liver, spleen, centralnervous system, ocular tissue and genital tract. Indogs, serovars
canicola 
and
grippotyphosa 
resultsin more renal dysfunction, whereas serovars
icterohemorrhagiae 
and
pomona 
produce morehepatic damage (
Brown,et.al 
.,1996). Reservoir hostsmay be sub clinically infected and shed organismsfor months to years after recovery.
History and Clinical Examination
A 6-year-old male Dobberman dog was broughtto the peripheral hospital with a history of not takingfood since three days, unable to walk, passing bloodymotions, lethargy, vomiting and weight loss. Onclinical examination the animal was dehydrated withsunken eyeball, conjunctival mucus membrane ofthe eye and the skin of the ventral abdomen appearsicteric. There were large circular erythematiclesions observed on the ventral abdomen and at baseof the tail. The rectal temperature was 98.6
o
F,animal was on lateral recumbency and unableto bear the weight on hind limbs. Based onthe clinical symptoms, the animal wassuspected for leptospirosis. The blood sample
Diagnosis and treatment of Leptospirosisin a dog - A Case report
K. J. Ananda,*, Suryananarayana, T., Prathiush, P. R. and Sharada, R. and Placid E. D'souzaDepartment of Veterinary Microbiology,Veterinary College, KVAFSU, Hebbal, Bangalore-24
was collected in a sterilized glass vials with andwithout EDTA for estimation of haematological andbiochemical parameters like Hb, PCV, WBC and BUN,creatinine, phosphorus, SGPT, SGOT respectively.The serum was used for microscopic agglutinationtest (MAT). The urine sample was also colleted in asterilized glass vial by catheterization for detectionof leptospira organism under dark field microscopyfor confirmatory diagnosis.
Treatment
The animal was treated with streptopenicillin@ 40,000 IU/kg body wt. Other supportive therapyincluded imferon 1ml i/m, neohapate 2ml i/m, rantac1.5ml s/c, and stadren 2ml i/m. Fluids were also givenduring the five day treatment period.
Results and Discussion
The physical examination of the dog showedseverely icteric, moderately dehydrated. Bloodanalysis of the dog revealed azotemia andhyperphosphatemia. The biochemical analysisrevealed BUN-101 mg/dl, creatinine-9.1 mg/dl andphosphorus-17.7 mg/dl, SGPT and SGOT showed190U/L and -140U/L, respectively.According to
Greene,et. al.,
(1998), the kidneyand liver are the major organs affected byleptospiremia. The increased levels of liver and kidneyspecific enzymes might be due to damage causedby leptospiral organism on liver and kidney.Leptospiral endotoxins may cause hepatocellularinjury and the persistence of the organism in the liverresults in altered circulation, fibrosis, andimmunologically mediated injury that may perpetuateto chronic active hepatitis, particularly with
L.grippotyphosa 
infections. Similar results were foundby
Greene,et.al.,
(1998).The haematological analysis revealeddecreased hemoglobin level of 9.4g/dl and
*Corresponding author: Asst. Professor, Dept. of Parasitology, Veterinary College, Shimoga-577 203.E-mail: dranandakj@yahoo.co.in, Mobile: +91-9845313244.
Veterinary World, Vol.1(9):
278-279CLINICAL
278
of 00

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