Since I've seen alot of questions about the Lepto vaccine, I thought I'd post some information here.
The following information was copied and pasted from the CDC website:
How do people and animals get leptospirosis?
The bacteria are spread through the urine of infected animals, which can get into water or soil and can survive there for weeks to months. Humans and animals can become infected through contact with this contaminated urine (or other body fluids, except saliva), water, or soil. The bacteria can enter the body through skin or mucous membranes (eyes, nose, or mouth), especially if the skin is broken from a cut or scratch. Drinking contaminated water can also cause infection. Infected wild and domestic animals may continue to excrete the bacteria into the environment continuously or every once in a while for a few months up to several years.
If your pet has become infected, it most likely came into contact with leptospires in the environment or infected animals. Your pet may have been drinking, swimming, or walking through contaminated water. Because of increased building and development into areas that were previously rural, pets may be exposed to more wildlife, such as raccoons, skunks, squirrels, opossums, or deer that are infected with leptospirosis. Dogs also may pass the disease to each other, but this happens very rarely.
The following was copied from the AVMA:
Animals—1,819,792 dogs examined at 22 veterinary teaching hospitals between 1970 and 1998.
Procedures—The Veterinary Medical Data Base was searched for records of dogs in which a diagnosis of leptospirosis was made, and hospital prevalence was calculated. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between leptospirosis and age, sex, and breed.
Results—677 dogs with leptospirosis were identified. Thus, hospital prevalence was 37 cases/100,000 dogs examined. A significant increase in leptospirosis prevalence between 1983 and 1998 was identified. Male dogs were at significantly greater risk of leptospirosis than were female dogs; dogs between 4 and 6.9 years old and between 7 and 10 years old were at significantly greater risk than dogs < 1 year old; and herding dogs, hounds, working dogs, and mixed-breed dogs were at significantly greater risk than companion dogs.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The prevalence of leptospirosis among dogs examined at veterinary teaching hospitals in the United States and Canada has increased significantly since 1983. Male dogs of working and herding breeds were at greater risk. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2002;220:53–58)
The following was copied from the Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue
Lepto Vaccine: to give or not to give.............
Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue has recently taken a stand on the controversial "Lepto" vaccine. We have never given this vaccine to our Shelties, but have not spoken out on it either....until now.
Now...with yet another death from the reaction to this vaccine, we are now taking a public stand on NOT giving this vaccine to your Sheltie. Not all Shelties will react to this vaccine, however enough Shelties have-- that it is worth mentioning here on our site. Seizures, fever, flu-like symptoms, lethargy, liver and kidney failure .....and even death has all been reported from giving the "Lepto" vaccine.
The disease "Lepto" aka: Leptospirosis is a very serious disease in dogs and people. There are many (over 200 worldwide) strains of this disease, and the vaccines available today only cover 4 of the most common ones.
"How do I know what is in the shot my Vet gives my dog?"
**** ASK !!!! ***
Most Dogs are vaccinated with a combo shot. The shot will be called something like DHLPP or DALPP
The "L" usually stands for Lepto. Watch out!
Now... on the flip side............
Lepto is spread by contact with the urine of infected wild animals. Raccoons, fox, coyotes, cows and other undomesticated animals all can carry it. Lakes, streams and wooded areas are the most common places to come in contact with Lepto infected urine. If you plan on taking your dog "camping" or "hiking" in places that are known to have wildlife... you may want to give the Lepto Vaccine before you go. However... discuss the Lepto Vaccine with your Veterinarian FIRST. Then if you do decide to vaccinate for Lepto, we strongly urge you to give it as a separate vaccine, and NOT in combination with other vaccines. Then, make sure to stay with your dog for the next 10-24 hours to watch for a bad reaction. You may even want to leave the dog with your Vet if you cannot watch your dog during this time.
Our recommendation is to ASK questions and discuss this with your Vet BEFORE you let anyone give this vaccine to your Sheltie.
Unfortunately I spent quite a bit of time looking for a nationwide map of lepto occurrences. All I found was that in 1998 300 cases were reported and 50% of those were in Hawaii. Unfortunately Lepto is not a reportable disease anymore. I am also not sure if those numbers were from people, pets, or combined but logic dictates that those %s would travel across zoonotic lines since the disease itself is zoonotic.
The following information was copied and pasted from the CDC website:
How do people and animals get leptospirosis?
The bacteria are spread through the urine of infected animals, which can get into water or soil and can survive there for weeks to months. Humans and animals can become infected through contact with this contaminated urine (or other body fluids, except saliva), water, or soil. The bacteria can enter the body through skin or mucous membranes (eyes, nose, or mouth), especially if the skin is broken from a cut or scratch. Drinking contaminated water can also cause infection. Infected wild and domestic animals may continue to excrete the bacteria into the environment continuously or every once in a while for a few months up to several years.
If your pet has become infected, it most likely came into contact with leptospires in the environment or infected animals. Your pet may have been drinking, swimming, or walking through contaminated water. Because of increased building and development into areas that were previously rural, pets may be exposed to more wildlife, such as raccoons, skunks, squirrels, opossums, or deer that are infected with leptospirosis. Dogs also may pass the disease to each other, but this happens very rarely.
The following was copied from the AVMA:
Animals—1,819,792 dogs examined at 22 veterinary teaching hospitals between 1970 and 1998.
Procedures—The Veterinary Medical Data Base was searched for records of dogs in which a diagnosis of leptospirosis was made, and hospital prevalence was calculated. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between leptospirosis and age, sex, and breed.
Results—677 dogs with leptospirosis were identified. Thus, hospital prevalence was 37 cases/100,000 dogs examined. A significant increase in leptospirosis prevalence between 1983 and 1998 was identified. Male dogs were at significantly greater risk of leptospirosis than were female dogs; dogs between 4 and 6.9 years old and between 7 and 10 years old were at significantly greater risk than dogs < 1 year old; and herding dogs, hounds, working dogs, and mixed-breed dogs were at significantly greater risk than companion dogs.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The prevalence of leptospirosis among dogs examined at veterinary teaching hospitals in the United States and Canada has increased significantly since 1983. Male dogs of working and herding breeds were at greater risk. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2002;220:53–58)
The following was copied from the Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue
Lepto Vaccine: to give or not to give.............
Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue has recently taken a stand on the controversial "Lepto" vaccine. We have never given this vaccine to our Shelties, but have not spoken out on it either....until now.
Now...with yet another death from the reaction to this vaccine, we are now taking a public stand on NOT giving this vaccine to your Sheltie. Not all Shelties will react to this vaccine, however enough Shelties have-- that it is worth mentioning here on our site. Seizures, fever, flu-like symptoms, lethargy, liver and kidney failure .....and even death has all been reported from giving the "Lepto" vaccine.
The disease "Lepto" aka: Leptospirosis is a very serious disease in dogs and people. There are many (over 200 worldwide) strains of this disease, and the vaccines available today only cover 4 of the most common ones.
"How do I know what is in the shot my Vet gives my dog?"
**** ASK !!!! ***
Most Dogs are vaccinated with a combo shot. The shot will be called something like DHLPP or DALPP
The "L" usually stands for Lepto. Watch out!
Now... on the flip side............
Lepto is spread by contact with the urine of infected wild animals. Raccoons, fox, coyotes, cows and other undomesticated animals all can carry it. Lakes, streams and wooded areas are the most common places to come in contact with Lepto infected urine. If you plan on taking your dog "camping" or "hiking" in places that are known to have wildlife... you may want to give the Lepto Vaccine before you go. However... discuss the Lepto Vaccine with your Veterinarian FIRST. Then if you do decide to vaccinate for Lepto, we strongly urge you to give it as a separate vaccine, and NOT in combination with other vaccines. Then, make sure to stay with your dog for the next 10-24 hours to watch for a bad reaction. You may even want to leave the dog with your Vet if you cannot watch your dog during this time.
Our recommendation is to ASK questions and discuss this with your Vet BEFORE you let anyone give this vaccine to your Sheltie.
Unfortunately I spent quite a bit of time looking for a nationwide map of lepto occurrences. All I found was that in 1998 300 cases were reported and 50% of those were in Hawaii. Unfortunately Lepto is not a reportable disease anymore. I am also not sure if those numbers were from people, pets, or combined but logic dictates that those %s would travel across zoonotic lines since the disease itself is zoonotic.
