title: Increasing incidence of canine leptospirosis in Switzerland.
abstract: A marked increase in canine leptospirosis was observed in Switzerland over 10 years with a peak incidence of 28.1 diagnosed cases/100,000 dogs/year in the most affected canton. With 95% affected dogs living at altitudes <800 m, the disease presented a seasonal pattern associated with temperature (r2 0.73) and rainfall (r2 0.39), >90% cases being diagnosed between May and October. The increasing yearly incidence however was only weakly correlated with climatic data including number of summer (r2 0.25) or rainy days (r2 0.38). Serovars Australis and Bratislava showed the highest seropositivity rates with 70.5% and 69.1%, respectively. Main clinical manifestations included renal (99.6%), pulmonary (76.7%), hepatic (26.0%), and hemorrhagic syndromes (18.2%), leading to a high mortality rate (43.3%). Similar to the human disease, liver involvement had the strongest association with negative outcome (OR 16.3). Based on these data, canine leptospirosis presents similar features and severity as the human infection for which it therefore can be considered a model. Its re-emergence in a temperate country with very high incidence rates in canines should thus be viewed as a warning and emphasize the need for increased awareness in other species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 128, CH-3001 Bern, Switzerland. andrea.major@vetsuisse.unibe.ch.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Major
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 128, CH-3001 Bern, Switzerland. ariane.schweighauser@vetsuisse.unibe.ch.
authors.forename: Ariane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schweighauser
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 128, CH-3001 Bern, Switzerland. thierry.francey@vetsuisse.unibe.ch.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Francey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002980:Climate; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D015994:Incidence; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012621:Seasons; D013557:Switzerland
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; C406589:LipL32 protein, Leptospira; D008074:Lipoproteins