title: Leptospirosis in dogs: a serologic survey and case series 1996 to 2001.
abstract: All leptospirosis microscopic agglutination test titers for the Leptospira serovars icterohaemorrhagiae, canicola, grippotyphosa, bratislava, hardjo, and pomona conducted on 1,260 blood samples from dogs at the University of Illinois Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory between March 1996 and March 2001 were evaluated. Low titers (1:100 to 1:400) were predominantly L. icterohaemorrhagiae and L. canicola, which represented the predominant serovars (65.4%) among all positive samples with low titers. L. grippotyphosa was the predominant serovar (72.1%) among samples with clinically significant titers (greater than 1:800). The medical records of 87 dogs with a titer greater than 1:800 that were patients at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Illinois were reviewed. A clinical diagnosis of leptospirosis was made in 15 cases (17.2%) based on the elevated titer, appropriate clinical signs, lack of recent vaccination, and lack of concurrent disease that could explain the clinical signs present. Renal disease was present in 10 of the cases, concurrent renal and hepatic disease in two, and hepatic disease in three. In 12 cases, the predominant serovar was L. grippotyphosa; titers to L. grippotyphosa and L. bratislava were equal in magnitude in three cases.
authors.affiliation: University of Saskatchewan, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N5B4.
authors.forename: Pam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boutilier
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: Rhonda L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Schulman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000662:veterinary; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007087:Illinois / Q000453:epidemiology; D007919:Leptospira / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D010375:Pedigree; D011996:Records / Q000662:veterinary; D012189:Retrospective Studies