Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Polysynovitis in a horse due to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection--Case study.
- Journal:
- Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine : AAEM
- Year:
- 2015
- Authors:
- Passamonti, Fabrizio et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Medicine · Italy
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old Paint gelding horse was brought to a veterinarian after having a fever, occasional limping, and swelling in the tendon area of his right hind leg for three weeks. Tests showed that he had polysynovitis, which is inflammation in the joints, caused by an infection from a type of bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, known for causing Lyme disease. Interestingly, the tests did not find any of the bacteria's DNA in two of the affected joints, which is unusual and suggests that the horse's condition might be similar to what is seen in humans with Lyme disease. This case is significant as it is the first documented instance of Lyme disease in horses in Italy, highlighting the potential risk to humans since horses and people often share the same environments. The treatment's effectiveness was not detailed in the abstract, so we can't confirm how well it worked.
Abstract
Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a multi-systemic tick-borne disease affecting both humans and animals, including horses, and is caused by a group of interrelated spirochetes classified within the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex. Despite the high reported seroprevalence in the European equine population for B. burgdorferi s.l., to-date no documented clinical cases have been described. A 6-year-old Paint gelding was referred with a history of three weeks of fever, intermittent lameness and digital flexor tendon sheath effusion of the right hind limb. Based on a strict diagnostic protocol, which included serological tests for infectious diseases and molecular investigations, a final diagnosis was made of polysynovitis due to B. burgdorferi s.l. infection. An unreported aspect observed in this case was the absence of the pathogen DNA in two of the affected joints. To the authors' knowledge, the case described represents the first documented clinical case of equine LB in Italy. Moreover, the absence of pathogen DNA in two of the affected joints observed in this case revealed a possible similarity with the same condition described in humans, where an immunomediated pathogenesis for arthropathy due to B. burgdorferi s.l. infection is suspected. Since humans and horses share the same habitat, this report supports the role of the horse as potential sentinel for human biological risk.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26094517/