It always seems like there is something going around that we have to defend ourselves against. COVID-19 along with all of its deadly variants has turned our world upside down and now Omicron is the latest in the slew of covid variants.

We'll save covid for another day as enough folks and media outlets are saturating us with coverage on the latest variant. One disease that may not be getting much of a spotlight is Leptospirosis. What is Leptospirosis you ask?

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Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that can affect kidneys and other organs. The results can be fatal. According to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, multiple cases of Leptospirosis have been reported in dogs in Massachusetts.

Leptospirosis Doesn't Just Affect Dogs. It affects Other Animals Including Humans

According to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources' Facebook page:

Dogs and other animals, including humans, are infected when they are exposed to the urine of an infected animal, often through contaminated water. Dogs, livestock, wildlife, and rodents can spread this disease. This fall, Leptospirosis cases have been reported in dogs in both rural and urban areas of Massachusetts.

What can you do to protect your dog and yourself from contracting Leptospirosis?

MDAR recommends that you discuss vaccination against Leptospirosis with your veterinarian and reduce your dog’s exposure to wildlife, livestock, rodents, and contaminated water. This includes no drinking from puddles and no swimming in contaminated water.

You can get more information about Leptospirosis by going here.

If you're a dog lover, you'll probably be fascinated by these facts. You may already know some of them.

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To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

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