[yorkiesmiles]

I read an interesting article today about Lepto - and why the shot may be important, - it was in simple language. Mine have not had it - my holistic vet doesn't even give the parvo shot.

This article was in a magazine and by a vet in Florida, so I'm going to try and retype what was said by Dr. Michael Reinhart - he isn't even totally convinced about giving it:

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Lepto refers to a bacterial disease named "Leptospirosis." It's not new but recently the medical community - including the Center for Disease Control - has become a little more concerned because of an increase in its incidence.

This spiky bacterium clings on contact and is easily contracted. Once on board, the final outcome is acute kidney and liver failure with a consensus 50 percent fatality.

I have been in practice for more than 25 years, and it was not until this past year that I diagnosed a case. In fact, I have diagnosed three cases in the past year, possibly because I am looking for it more. One case was a dog - only five years old - that died of kidney failure.

Once thought not to be much of a problem because the vector was typically rat urine, this has now changed. One of the more increasingly prevalent types of Lepto is now spread in raccoon and possum urine.

If you live in Florida, there is a good chance raccoons have been around your house. They may urinate on the other side of your fence, but when it rains, the urine washes down into your yard, and those puddles around your house may harbor more than just mud.

To make matters worse, humans can contact this, and it can be fatal. There was a recent report of the death of a teenager who was diagnosed only after death.

Because of its low incidence, physicians are not very familiar with the problem, and it is low on the diagnostic list.

Typically humans show flu-like symptoms that never seem to improve. Animals present with acute renal or liver problems.

A blood titre is the only way to diagnose Lepto, and false negatives occur with too much frequency.

There has been a vaccine developed, but most doctors are not warm to its use because of past vaccine reactions. Recently however, several pharmaceutical companies have done a better job of purifying the vaccine, and reactions may be a thing of the past.

With my recent cases, we are considering making the vaccine part of our core vaccination program for dogs.

Although the chances of exposure remain low, they still remain, and we believe that vaccinating the pet protects not only the animal, but possibly, his family as well.