Lyme Disease Update
by Jennifer Fry, VMD
Continued from page one....
- Diagnosis of Lyme disease is made by presence of appropriate clinical signs, rule-out of alternate causes of these signs, demonstration of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi and response to antibiotic therapy.
- A positive blood titer is an indication of exposure to the organism (via a vaccine or tick bite) and by itself is not diagnostic of Lyme disease. A positive titer can take up to 6 weeks to develop and may remain elevated for months to years without new infection. A Western Blot (specialized blood test) can distinguish antibodies from a vaccine or natural infection.
- Response to therapy with antibiotics in the penicillin or tetracycline families is usually seen within 3-5 days and is often quite dramatic. Baytril and Sulfa drugs are ineffective for treatment of Lyme disease. About 10-25% of dogs treated for Lyme arthritis will become chronically affected and have incomplete resolution of signs or recurrent disease.
- ONCE INFECTED = INFECTED FOR LIFE Antibiotics will reduce the signs of disease but it does not clear the spirochetes from the body. The larger the number of spirochetes in the tissue, the worse the clinical signs will be in that area of the body. Natural infection does NOT lead to protection against the disease.
- PREVENTION is the key via VACCINATION AND TICK CONTROL Immunization with Fort Dodge's LymeVax (a whole cell bacterin) was found to be safe regardless of previous history of exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi, history of Lyme disease or chronic Lyme disease. However, prior infection may lead to disease in the future. There is no increase of immune-mediated disease associated with the vaccine. LymeVax offers superior protection for dogs as young as 9 weeks old. The vaccine has multiple antigen protection and kills Borrelia in the mid-gut of the tick as well as in the dog. One study showed a 50% decrease in incidence of Lyme disease in infected dogs that were vaccinated versus infected dogs that were NOT vaccinated. Hence, vaccination appeared to lower the incidence of disease. Therefore, infected dogs should be vaccinated after treatment with appropriate antibiotics.
- <Vaccination Series: Lyme #1 may be given to any dog over 9 weeks of age. Lyme #2 is given in approximately 2-3 weeks after Lyme #1. The vaccine must then be given annually to aid in the prevention of Lyme Disease. If the vaccine has not been administered for a period of 1.5-2 years or more, the series must start over again. The label claim provides one year of protection.
- Preventic Collars or Frontline TopSpot should be used in addition to yearly vaccination with LymeVax. Ticks carry other diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Ehrlichiosis, which can be devastating. Therefore, it is important to keep your dog tick-free. Preventic collars offer superior protection by paralyzing ticks, which prevents them from attaching. TopSpot will kill ticks too, but it may take 24-48 hours.
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References:
Steven A. Levy, VMD. "Tick Biology and Tick-borne Diseases for the
Small Animal Practitioner AND Canine Lyme Disease."
Steven A. Levy, VMD and David Dreesen, DVM. "Lyme Borreliosis in Dogs."
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