Leptospirosis
After dairy herd vaccination began in 1979, leptospirosis cases in humans dropped from 667 to 106 by 1991. Today New Zealand has one of the highest rates of leptospirosis in the world.
Leptospirosis is a zoonosis, i.e. a disease spread between animals and people. People contract the disease when they have contact with the urine of infected animals. The infection enters through cuts and cracks in the skin and through the membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. Most infected animals carry the bacteria without any obvious signs of disease.
Symptoms of infection in people include severe headaches, fever, and sensitivity to light, sweating, nausea and vomiting, muscle pain, loss of appetite and mood changes. In more severe cases, jaundice can develop from liver damage as well as breathing, vision and skin problems and diarrhoea. People with severe leptospirosis will be hospitalised, often ending up in intensive care.
Those at greatest risk are farmers, meat workers, veterinarians, meat inspectors and other rural service workers. Leptospirosis has historically been most common in dairy farmers, however clinical disease in sheep and deer is increasing and becoming a significant source of infection to humans.
Under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, employers are obliged to ‘take all practicable steps' to prevent leptospirosis in their employees and visitors to the farm.
Vaccines for people are available overseas but they have unpleasant side-effects and currently offer almost no cross-protection between the different strains of leptospirosis. Animal vaccination is as much to protect people as animals. Vaccination levels in beef cattle, deer and sheep are very low.
Reducing the risk of leptospirosis on your property involves more than just vaccination. Totally Vets is happy to develop risk management plans for your property.
