Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Borrelia spirochete infection found naturally in two Florida dogs
By Breitschwerdt, E B et al.·Published in Journal of clinical microbiology·1994·Department of Companion Animal and Special Species Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Natural infections with Borrelia spirochetes in two dogs from Florida.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two dogs in Florida were found to have a rare infection caused by a type of bacteria called Borrelia, which is usually associated with Lyme disease. One dog showed signs of illness, and tests confirmed the presence of these spirochetes in its blood. Interestingly, the strain found in these dogs is different from the one typically linked to Lyme disease. This discovery suggests that there may be other Borrelia species affecting dogs in Florida, which could lead to misdiagnosis of Lyme disease.
People also search for: dog Lyme disease symptoms · Florida dog infection Borrelia · spirochetemia in dogs · dog blood test for Lyme disease
Abstract
Spirochetemia is a rarely reported observation in dogs. We describe the clinical, hematologic, and immunodiagnostic features of two spirochetemic dogs from northern Florida and the subsequent isolation and preliminary characterization of a Borrelia species from one dog in which culture of a sample for spirochetes was attempted. Results of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, monoclonal antibody testing, and PCR analysis indicate that the Florida isolate is not Borrelia burgdorferi, the only other member of the genus that has been isolated in Florida. Our findings also indicate that a member of the genus Borrelia potentially causes disease in dogs in Florida and that serologic cross-reactivity of the Florida canine Borrelia isolate with B. burgdorferi probably contributes to the inaccurate diagnosis of canine Lyme disease in the region.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8150943/