CANINE LEPTOSPIROSIS AS A ONE HEALTH SENTINEL DISEASE: ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE, PATHOGEN SHEDDING, AND ZOONOTIC TRANSMISSION
Abstract
It is well known that canine leptospirosis is a clinical disease in veterinary medicine, however, its importance as an epidemiological issue in a One Health context is only poorly investigated. This review reconsiders canine leptospirosis as not only a disease of the dog, but as a sentinel phenomenon, which represents the presence of pathogenic Leptospira in the environment, shedding by the dog, and the risk of zoonotic transmission at the human–animal–environmental interface. We combine evidence from a number of fields: biology of Leptospira and the dog's continuum of infection; the ability of owned, free-roaming, shelter, and working dogs to act as sentinels for environmental exposure; the environmental factors that promote infection, such as water, soil, flooding, temperature, and urbanization; the hidden reservoir of urinary shedding and environmental contamination; the zoonotic transmission path from dogs to humans; the dog–rodent–environment transmission network and associated factors; diagnosis and surveillance strategies; climate change's impact on disease geography; and One Health surveillance and prevention strategies. A major conceptual contribution is the three-part distinction among serological evidence of exposure, PCR-based detection of bacterial DNA and culture-based confirmation of viable organisms, which places a three-tiered framework for surveillance. We propose that combined with human case detection, environmental sampling, climate data, and geospatial analysis, sentinel dogs can be made an important part of a leptospirosis risk early-warning system. The vision can now be realized through innovative technologies such as whole genome sequencing, environmental DNA, risk mapping using artificial intelligence and integrated climate–pathogen platforms. The review concludes that when correctly put in the One Health context, canine leptospirosis is a powerful sentinel disease, which can be used to gain insight and mitigate the transmission of environmental leptospirosis.
Keywords
- canine leptospirosis; Leptospira; One Health; sentinel surveillance; urinary shedding; environmental contamination; zoonotic transmission; environmental reservoirs; climate change; companion animals
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