Borrelia burgdorferi
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- Lyme disease
- Caused by Borrelia burgdorferi
- Reported in humans, dogs, horses, cattle, sheep
- Ticks are the vector, which acquire the infection from small rodents, the reservoir hosts
- Ticks transmit the infection to large mammals such as deer and sheep
- Ixodes ricinus is the most common tick vector in Europe
- Pathogenesis
- Virulence of the borreliae requires a change in expression of an outer membrane protein following ingestion of blood by the tick
- Borreliae multiply in the blood stream of susceptible hosts and disseminate throughout the body
- Localisation in joints, brain, nerves, eyes and heart can occur
- The associated lesions may be in part caused by the host immune response
- CLinical signs
- May be subclinical in endemic areas
- Clinical manifestation depends on the site of localisation of organisms
- Disease in dogs may cause fever, lethargy, arthritis, cardiac, renal or neurological disturbance
- Horses suffer similar clinical signs but also lameness, uveitis, nephritis, hepatitis and encephalitis
- Cattle and sheep may suffer from lameness
- Diagnosis
- Laboratory confirmation difficult due to low numbers of organisms and fastidious growth requirements
- History of exposure to ticks in an endemic region and clinical signs
- Rising antibody titre to Borrelia burgdorferi detected by ELISA
- Immunofluorescence
- Culture in Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly medium for 6 weeks under microaerophilic conditions
- PCR
- Treatment and control
- Amoxycillin and oxytetracycline in the acute phase; prolonged treatment in the chronic phase
- Tick control and removal
- Vaccines including whole cell bacterins and recombinant subunit vaccines available for dogs