Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lyme borreliosis in dogs and cats: background, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infections with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto.
- Journal:
- The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice
- Year:
- 2010
- Authors:
- Krupka, Inke & Straubinger, Reinhard K
- Affiliation:
- Institute for Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses · Germany
Plain-English summary
Lyme borreliosis, commonly known as Lyme disease, is an infection caused by a type of bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. This disease mainly affects dogs, especially in certain areas of North America like the New England States and parts of California and the Midwest. Dogs with Lyme disease can show symptoms like severe joint pain, fever, and limping. Diagnosing this condition can be tricky because the signs can be hard to spot, so veterinarians often rely on a detailed history and specific blood tests to confirm it. The article discusses how to identify, treat, and prevent Lyme disease in pets.
Abstract
Lyme borreliosis (LB), synonymous with the often-used term Lyme disease, is an infectious disease caused by the spirochetal bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. LB is the most frequent vector-borne disease in humans in the Northern Hemisphere. In animals, clinically apparent disease is found primarily in dogs. Severe polyarthritis, fever and lameness in dogs are reported from the main endemic areas of North America: the New England States, and eastern parts of the United States; several cases of LB are also seen in California and the Midwest. Because of the difficulties in finding sufficient indicative clinical signs, additional information (detailed case history, laboratory testing for antibodies) is especially important to make the clinical diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis. This article reviews the etiology, diagnosis, therapy, and prevention of LB.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20933139/