Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lyme disease causing lameness and paralysis in Belgian dogs
By McKenna, P et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·1995·Queen Astrid Military Hospital·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine Lyme disease in Belgium.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two dogs in Belgium were diagnosed with Lyme disease after showing symptoms like repeated limping and extreme tiredness. One of the dogs also experienced nerve paralysis, which made it difficult for him to swallow and affected his ability to move his jaw. This is the first time such severe complications from Lyme disease have been reported in dogs. Treatment details were not specified, but Lyme disease is typically managed with antibiotics, which can help improve symptoms and recovery.
People also search for: dog limping Lyme disease · dog tiredness Lyme disease treatment · dog swallowing problems Lyme disease
Abstract
Lyme borreliosis is a multisystem disease caused by the tick-borne spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi. In addition to causing human illness, borreliosis has been recorded in many species of mammals, including domestic animals which come into contact with the infected tick vector. This paper describes the first two cases to the authors' knowledge of Lyme borreliosis in dogs in Belgium. Both animals suffered recurrent lameness and general prostration. In addition, one of the dogs had recurrent paralysis of nerves V, VII, IX and X, leading to dysphagia and total bilateral paralysis of the mandibular muscles. This complication of Lyme borreliosis has been well documented in human pathology, but has not previously been recorded in the veterinary literature.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7785179/