Evaluation of three 5' exonuclease-based real-time polymerase chain reaction assays for detection of pathogenic Leptospira species in canine urine.

Leptospirosis is caused by several pathogenic Leptospira species, and is an important infectious disease of dogs. Early detection of infection is crucial for an effective antibiotic treatment of the disease. Though different polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays have been developed for detection of pathogenic Leptospira spp.