Diagnosing and Managing Canine Leptospirosis: IDEXX Reference Laboratories Introduces a RealPCR™ Test for Canine Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease of worldwide significance, is caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. Leptospirosis has been thought to most commonly affect young-adult, large-breed, outdoor dogs; however, small dogs in urban areas can also contract the disease. Pathogenic serovars infecting dogs include icterohaemorrhagiae, canicola, pomona, bratislava, grippotyphosa and autumnalis. Although serovar identification is of interest from an epidemiologic stand point, clinical disease is similar for all serovars and treatment is the same. Therefore, determining whether a dog has leptospirosis is much more important than identification of which specific serovar is involved.

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