Leptospirosis Outbreak Alert in Eastern Melbourne

[Two Best Dogs!]

This is a facebook outbreak alert from a vet clinic They also have a short info poster on causes/contagion/symptom 

 

https://www.facebook.com/RingwoodVetHospital/photos/a.913100492214121/1259443134246520/?type=3&__tn__=H-R

 

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**Follow this post and share with other local pet-parents for more updated information as we find out more.**

**11th Nov Update: We are getting quite a few questions on vaccination. The answer is yes we do offer vaccination. At this stage, we are recommending it on a case by case basis. If you are interested to find out more, please call our hospital & emergency centre on: (03) 8595 6655 between 8am to 8pm.**

In the last week we have had a confirmed diagnosis of Leptospira interrogans (italics) serovar Copenhageni in a dog living local to the Maroondah area. Although he and his family fought hard, sadly the dog was extremely unwell due to both liver and kidney failure and unable to be saved.

Bayswater has also recently had a confirmed case of leptospirosis in a dog. We do not know of other confirmed cases in Eastern Melbourne, however, it is possible that the disease is being seen but not confirmed.

***Leptospirosis can cause severe illness in people, can be lethal in dogs and cats and infect many different mammals. *** Because of the severity of disease this bacteria causes, as well as its ability to spread between people and animals, all cases must be reported to the Department of Agriculture immediately.

This bacteria is more commonly seen in the humid conditions of Northern Queensland, and quite rarely seen in the southern states. However, in the past few months, there has been a spike of cases confirmed in central Sydney and now the Bayswater and Maroondah area.

At this stage, we have created a brief infographic to help you reduce the risk of exposure to your beloved pet. We sincerely hope we don’t see any more cases in the near future.

Rest-assured we are surveilling the situation extremely carefully to make sure we keep your pets safe and healthy. We will be updating this post regularly to keep you in the loop.

**Please share this post and spread awareness if you know of any pet parents in Eastern Melbourne.**

If you want to learn more, please refer to:
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/…/Conditi…/Leptospirosis

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/…/fa…/Pages/leptospirosis.aspx

Or contact our 24/7 vets on-site vet hospital in Ringwood: (03) 8595 6655 or your local veterinarian.