You may have seen the recent news articles warning pet owners about leptospirosis.
What is leptospirosis?
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that spreads through the bloodstream. Dogs can get leptospirosis from puddles or bodies of water that carry urine from infected wildlife. The bacteria infiltrate a dog's body by burrowing into their skin. It is true that canine leptospirosis can be a serious, and life-threatening disease. Cats can get leptospirosis but it is much less common.
On average in Queensland there are one or two cases reported annually. After all the rain we have had and the amount of stagnant water laying around, there is concerns those numbers could rise. Biosecurity Queensland have said there is no spike in cases on the Sunshine Coast or even Queensland as a whole.
Based on current advice we are not routinely vaccinating for leptospirosis. The vaccine that is currently available, doesn’t cover all strains of leptospirosis.
What does this mean for you as a pet owner?
Stay calm, if you are traveling to areas where leptospirosis is more of a problem (not the Sunshine Coast), like far north and western Queensland then book an appointment to chat to one of the vets to see if you do need to vaccinate. While we don’t stock the vaccination we can order it in if required.
Based on current advice we are not routinely vaccinating for leptospirosis. If that changes we will keep you updated.
