Because routine vaccinations for dogs include a couple of serovars, the disease is mentioned on those web pages listing components of common canine vaccines. However, very little information on the disease itself is available. There are a few links, however, if you refer to part 1 of this article . Part of the reason for the lack of available information may be that leptospirosis is relatively uncommon in dogs and cats and very few cases of human exposure are from pets. However, it does appear that leptrospirosis is increasing in incidence, especially those serovars that are not included in the canine vaccine.
Leptospirosis is also important because it can cause very serious disease and even death.
The signs of leptospirosis can be very difficult to identify because they vary depending on the specific bacterial serovar and animal species involved. Much more is known about the clinical signs of leptospirosis in dogs than in cats. Cats may be more resistant to leptospirosis. Many cases may go undetected because lethargy, loss of appetite, possibly with increased thirst and urination, may be the only signs. In dogs, most serovars of leptospirosis cause acute kidney failure.