Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that occurs most frequently in mild to tropical climates. Reported cases of contracting the disease are more common during late summer and fall, after heavy rainfalls. Cases are far less common in winter months due to the fact that the bacteria cannot survive freezing temperatures. Dry heat kills the bacteria, but it thrives in stagnant water, alkaline conditions, dampness, and mud. While some areas of the country are more apt to this kind of weather, others are not, thus the leptospirosis vaccine remains a non-core vaccine.
Most pets contract the disease when they come into contact with a body of water that is infected with the bacteria, such as a puddle, rainwater, or drain. Other known methods of transmitting the infection include physical contact with saliva, feces, or the infected animal itself. The disease spreads via bodily fluids, through the bloodstream, and usually gets flushed into the kidneys where it often remains and reproduces, infecting the urine. Here it spreads to other animals that come into contact with the infected animal’s waste. The severity of the infection depends on the strength of an animal’s immune system. Younger animals with less developed immune systems are at a much higher risk of death when contracting leptospirosis. Pets that are the most at-risk for contracting the infection are hunting dogs, pets that live in wooded areas, pets that live on farms, or pets who live with other animals.
