Serum biochemical changes in dogs with experimental Leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae infection.

Inoculation of 2 groups of dogs with 1 X 10(9) and 4 X 10(9) Leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae produced disease varying from transient fever to uremia and death. Clinical signs of disease in the severely affected dogs were fever, dehydration, depression, and icterus. Laboratory changes in serum of infected dogs included increased urea nitrogen, creatinine, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase. Chloride concentration decreased in the serum of dogs with severe disease. The icterus in the infected dogs did not appear to be related to hemolytic anemia.