Cairns Dogs are at elevated risk of many tropical diseases. One of the worst is deadly Leptospirosis, which is a very real threat following a very wet "dry season".
Leptospirosis is a severe bacterial infection carried by animals such as rodents which is easily caught from contaminated water. During wet weather when there is standing water in cane paddocks and parks, Leptospirosis organisms from the urine of infected rats can survive for many days. Dogs or people which drink the water or who have open cuts come into contact with the water can easily be infected.
Leptospirosis is a severe bacterial infection carried by animals such as rodents which is easily caught from contaminated water. During wet weather when there is standing water in cane paddocks and parks, Leptospirosis organisms from the urine of infected rats can survive for many days. Dogs or people which drink the water or who have open cuts come into contact with the water can easily be infected.
Cairns Vet Clinic sees cases of leptospirosis every year, mostly during the wet season.
Leptospirosis causes severe liver and kidney damage and often results in death in humans and animals, even when correctly treated.
The first symptoms may be a high fever like a flu. In dogs this may present as a dog which seems off color and lethargic.
Later symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, blood in urine and severe depression/illness.
Don't ignore these symptoms in dogs, as failure to start treatment early is a common cause of death.
Many people become infected with leptospirosis around Australia annually. In some areas it is more commonly caught from infected farm animals, but around Cairns rodents and wildlife are the main cause. Many of those infected are working on farms or in gardens and have an open wound which is contaminated by rat urine. For this reason you should cover wounds and wear appropriate work wear such as boots when working outdoors. Rats should be controlled by baiting and destroying refuges such as overgrown areas, junk piles and neglected sheds!
Contaminated water can also be a source: this is one reason to boil water before drinking it, and ensure rainwater tanks and roofs are secure and clean.
Once of the Vet Nurses at Cairns Veterinary Clinic caught leptospirosis from dead rats in her rainwater tank! Yuck!
Unfortunately, many people infected with leptospirosis die, so prevention is the best strategy.
Fortunately there is a vaccine for the most common strain of Leptospirosis to infect dogs in Cairns: Leptospirosis australis.
Cairns Vet Clinic gives very clear advice to dog owners:
Leptospirosis is carried by rats and native wildlife like native rats and bandicoots.
Leptospirosis is carried by rats and native wildlife like native rats and bandicoots.
You need to vaccinate your dog against Leptospirosis australis if:
- There are rats in your dog's environment (eg. in the compost bin, back yard, shed etc)
- Your dog often goes into the bush, walks by cane paddocks, creeks, parks which are wet (Like Goomboora)
- Your dog lives on a farm
- You live close to a swamp, creek, hillside where rats or wildlife could get into your yard.
The vaccine is given as two initial shots a month apart followed by annual boosters.
Contact us for further details.
numbers. The parasites themselves can cause death through the damage they do to internal organs and essential body tissues (such as liquifying the thigh muscles so that the frog can't catch its food or escape from predators). Other times, the worms dissolve holes in the skin which leads to the frog being swamped by bacteria and fungi and these act as the cause of death. 
there, the muscle tissue is liquified, lymph sacs damaged and the protective skin over the bone breached which leads to breaks in the thigh bone. Holes appear in the skin which allows the frog to be flooded with bacteria which leads to scepticaemia (blood poisoning). Other times, the thigh muscle is compromised by cavities in the muscle and these fill with blood. Spirometra (the sub-adult stages of which are also referred to as spargana) lives in many hosts including insects, frogs, reptiles, cats and dogs but it has now become a serious predator of frogs in Far North Queensland. 
Once the frogs are infected, the worms are extremely difficult to treat and different medications used thus far have only acheived limited success. The Spirometra worms in particular have their own 'radar cloaking device' as they migrate through the frog's body, excreting both an immune suppressant and an anti-inflammatory agent which enables the worms to hide their presence from the frog's natural defenses. By the time the frog starts exhibiting external symptoms (usually lesions and lumps but also fluid retention in the legs), the infestation is already quite severe and the frog's tissues have been damaged. 
called a ciliated protozoa. The particular pond involved had been allowed to silt up with soil carried into the pond during rainy seasons and this muddy bottom is where the protozoa were living until they attacked the tadpoles. (A good reason to keep your frog ponds from silting up - leaf litter on the bottom is good but not mud and soil!) 
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