DETECTION OF PATHOGENIC LEPTOSPIRES AND ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AND CLINICAL SIGNS ASSOCIATED WITH CANINE LEPTOSPIROSIS

Abstract

Early diagnosis of canine leptospirosis in the leptospiremic phase is crucial to provide appropriate treatment and better prognosis to a ected patients, however, this may be challenging due to varying risk factors, non-speci c signs and non- predictive hematological values. In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, 60 blood samples from canine patients were tested for leptospirosis using polymerase chain reaction assay. Of the 60 samples, 11 samples (18%) tested positive for pathogenic leptospires which is statistically signi cant based on Z – test (α=0.05). In contrast, statistical analysis revealed no signi cant correlation between positive result upon PCR and several variables (age, sex, breed, type of housing and vaccination history). Majority of the clinical signs observed in dogs which tested positive for pathogenic leptospires were vomiting and diarrhea (7/11) while leukocytopenia (5/11) was the predominant hematologic nding. This study was able to detect leptospiral DNA in the blood of dogs and provided a clinical picture of dogs infected with pathogenic leptospires.