Old Country Buffet

Blood testing to detect antibodies against Leptospira interrogans (microscopic agglutination testing) can be performed. While a value of 1:800 or higher is supportive of a positive diagnosis, confirmation is not made until a second antibody level (called a titer) is run between 2 and 4 weeks and shows a four-fold increase. Vaccination may interfere with testing since obviously the entire point of vaccination is to generate antibodies. If the dog has been vaccinated in the last 3 months, testing will be difficult to interpret; however, a single titer of 1:800 or higher against a serovar for which there is no vaccine is considered a positive result. The PCR test, which amplifies small amounts of DNA, would be an excellent test if vaccination has been recent but PCR testing is not available in most reference laboratories.

Every spring the Old Country Animal Clinic hosts the Greater New York Bichon Frise Fanciers Club annual Eye/Knee/Microchip clinic. Dr. Monaco certifies that potential breeding dogs have no congenital defects of their patella (knee) and permanently identifies each pet with an AVID microchip. Dr. Van der Woerdt, a veterinary ophthalmologist, certifies the dogs free of any hereditary eye defects, like cataracts. The following photos are from this years 13th annual clinic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitor leptospirosis cases in people, and it seems that one third come from contact with infected dogs and one third come from contact with rats (usually through field work). The same disease symptoms occur in humans as would be seen in a canine infection.