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Diagnosis and treatment of canine leptospirosis due to serovar Bataviae—a case report

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Abstract

Infection of Leptospira interrogans var. Bataviae in a properly vaccinated German shepherd dog and its successful clinical management are described. The dog was presented with a history of anorexia, vomiting, oliguria, melena, lethargy, and weakness. The animal had a proper history of yearly vaccination with the multicomponent vaccine. Hematology revealed leucocytosis, thrombocytopenia, granulocytosis, and anemia. Serum biochemical analysis showed elevated BUN, creatinine, ALP, total bilirubin, hypoalbuminemia, hyperglobulinemia, and lower A:G ratio. Based upon the clinical signs and blood-biochemical changes, the case was tentatively diagnosed as leptospirosis. Confirmation was done by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) along with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The dog was treated with benzylpenicillin at a dose rate of 40,000 units/kg body weight intravenously twice a day along with proton pump inhibitors, fluids, electrolytes, and vitamin supplements for 5 days. The animal made a considerable improvement in condition after 5 days of treatment. To prevent persistent renal shedding of Leptospira organism, the animal was treated with doxycycline orally for 14 days. The animal made a complete recovery after 3 weeks of care. This case reports the emergence of a new Leptospira serovar in dogs of Kerala characterized by hepatic, renal, and hemorrhagic clinical manifestations. This case points towards the need for a seroprevalence study of leptospirosis in canines followed by incorporation of emerging serovars into the vaccination regime.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Surgery, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, 243122, India

    Khan Sharun

  2. Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookode, Wayanad, Kerala, India

    Satheesh Anjana

  3. Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala, India

    M. Dhivahar

  4. Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Ethics and Jurisprudence, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Mannuthy, Thrissur, 680651, India

    V. R. Ambily & Usha Narayana Pillai

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  1. Khan Sharun
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  2. Satheesh Anjana
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  3. M. Dhivahar
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  4. V. R. Ambily
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  5. Usha Narayana Pillai
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Correspondence to Khan Sharun.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal participants performed by any of the authors. The article reports a clinical case presented at the University Veterinary Hospital (UVH), Kokkalai, Thrissur, Kerala. All protocols followed were as per the guidelines from the standard textbooks in Veterinary Medicine and were ethical.

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Sharun, K., Anjana, S., Dhivahar, M. et al. Diagnosis and treatment of canine leptospirosis due to serovar Bataviae—a case report. Comp Clin Pathol 28, 1829–1833 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-019-02949-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-019-02949-4

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