Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Neurologic signs in two dogs with suspected Lyme disease
By Azuma, Y et al.·Published in Microbiology and immunology·1993·Monami Animal Clinic, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Neurologic abnormalities in two dogs suspected Lyme disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 2-year-old mongrel dog developed serious neurological problems, including seizures and difficulty walking, after being bitten by a tick. Tests showed the dog had Lyme disease, caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. After treatment with high doses of antibiotics, the dog's symptoms improved significantly. A similar case occurred in a 2-year-old Labrador retriever, which also responded well to antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease. Both dogs recovered from their neurological symptoms after receiving the appropriate care.
People also search for: dog seizures after tick bite · Lyme disease in dogs treatment · neurological symptoms in dogs Lyme disease
Abstract
A 2-year-old mongrel dog developed neurological signs following tick bite. These included astasia, persistent tonic convulsions and hyper-reflexia. Both serum IgG and IgM antibody titers against Borrelia burgdorferi were positive in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The neurological signs subsided after high-dose penicillin and streptomycin treatment. A strain of spirochetes (P427a) was isolated from the midgut of Ixodes persulcatus feeding on the dog. Morphological characteristic, immunological property and protein profile revealed that the isolate was B. burgdorferi. Similarly, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever dog developed neurological signs after tick bite and showed a positive IgG antibody titer against B. burgdorferi. Antibiotic treatment was effective also in this case. These findings suggest that neurological symptoms shown in both dogs were caused by infection with B. burgdorferi.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8350773/