[lil fu fu girl]

Originally Posted by OwnedByJezebel

My cousin came down with lepto a couple of years ago, and it was nasty, nasty, NASTY! He is young, robust, and very healthy, not immunocompromised at all! It was touch and go for a while, and there was a strong possibility that he would be left with permanent damage, but he did come out of it mostly OK. I'm sure he must have been exposed on the job, he's a vet in New Zealand and his specialty is large animals so he deals with a lot of herds outdoors.

My house is built on land that was used for cattle grazing only 4 years ago, and the dog park that we frequent was used for grazing only a year ago. You definitely have to weigh the risks on an individual basis.

I am so sorry to hear about your cousin. Most Americans never get to hear that side of the story. They believe that it is bacteria that only applies to those who do not have proper water treatment facilities.
Unfortunately the infection is spreading throughout our country; in both our domestic and wildlife. Current research on our white-tailed deer population has shown that most of their blood work is coming back exhibiting antibodies, produced due to infection by Lepto.
It is more prevalent then most of us know.
I wish the best for you cousin.