J Vet Sci.  2009 Mar;10(1):89-91. 10.4142/jvs.2009.10.1.89.

A suspected case of Lyme borreliosis in a hunting dog in Korea

• Choi US
• Kim HW
• You SE
• Youn HJ

• KMID: 1089353
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2009.10.1.89

Abstract

A two-year-old male Pointer had been presented with anorexia, cachexia, and weight loss of 10-day duration. Upon physical examination, fever, lethargy, superficial lymph node enlargement, and tick infestation were noted. The only abnormality in CBC and serum chemistry analyses was mild hyperglobulinemia. Spleen was enlarged by radiography, and the lymph nodes showed neutrophilic lymphadenitis by cytological examination. A polymerase chain reaction test for babesiosis and commercial ELISA tests for Ehrlichia canis, heartworm, and Lyme disease was negative except for Lyme disease, which was verified by both an IFA-IgG test and a quantitative C6 assay. Doxycycline was administered for 2 weeks and the recovery was uneventful. Post-treatment C6 titer decreased to within normal limits.

Keyword

dog; fever; hyperglobulinemia; Lyme disease

MeSH Terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use
Dog Diseases/*diagnosis/drug therapy/epidemiology/pathology
Dogs
Doxycycline/therapeutic use
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary
Korea/epidemiology
Lyme Disease/drug therapy/epidemiology/pathology/*veterinary
Lymph Nodes/pathology
Male
Spleen/radiography

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Radiograph of the spleen. The abdomen was decreased by lack of fat. In the lateral view, soft tissue density structure (arrows) was identified in the ventral region of the middle abdomen, and this structure was considered to be splenomegaly based on the position and shape.

• 

  Fig. 2 Microphotograph of the enlarged superficial cervical lymph node. Note the mixed population of lymphocytes, neutrophils, and plasma cells with a predominance of small lymphocytes. Some of the cells were lysed in the background. Wright stain, ×400.

Reference

1. Chae JS, Yu do H, Shringi S, Klein TA, Kim HC, Chong ST, Lee IY, Foley J. Microbial pathogens in ticks, rodents and a shrew in northern Gyeonggi-do near the DMZ, Korea. J Vet Sci. 2008. 9:285–293.

2. Choi YJ, Han SH, Park JM, Lee KM, Lee EM, Lee SH, Song HJ, Koh YS, Lee KW, Jang WJ, Park KH. First molecular detection of Borrelia afzelii in clinical samples in Korea. Microbiol Immunol. 2007. 51:1201–1207.

3. Hartmann K, Greene CE. Ettinger SJ, Feldman EC, editors. Diseases caused by systemic bacterial infections. Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine: Diseases of the Dog and Cat. 2005. 6th ed. St. Louis: Elsevier;619–625.

4. Lee SH, Kim BJ, Kim JH, Park KH, Kim SJ, Kook YH. Differentiation of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato on the basis of RNA polymerase gene (rpoB) sequences. J Clin Microbiol. 2000. 38:2557–2562.

5. Levy S, O'Connor TP, Hanscom JL, Shields P. Utility of an in-office C₆ ELISA test kit for determination of infection status of dogs naturally exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi. Vet Ther. 2002. 3:308–315.

6. Levy SA, O'Connor TP, Hanscom JL, Shields P, Lorentzen L, Dimarco AA. Quantitative measurement of C₆ antibody following antibiotic treatment of Borrelia burgdorferi antibody-positive nonclinical dogs. Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2008. 15:115–119.

7. Liang FT, Jacobson RH, Straubinger RK, Grooters A, Philipp MT. Characterization of a Borrelia burgdorferi VlsE invariable region useful in canine Lyme disease serodiagnosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. J Clin Microbiol. 2000. 38:4160–4166.

8. Littman MP, Goldstein RE, Labato MA, Lappin MR, Moore GE. ACVIM small animal consensus statement on Lyme disease in dogs: diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. J Vet Intern Med. 2006. 20:422–434.

9. Mogilyansky E, Loa CC, Adelson ME, Mordechai E, Tilton RC. Comparison of Western immunoblotting and the C₆ Lyme antibody test for laboratory detection of Lyme disease. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 2004. 11:924–929.

10. O'Connor TP, Esty KJ, Hanscom JL, Shields P, Philipp MT. Dogs vaccinated with common Lyme disease vaccines do not respond to IR6, the conserved immunodominant region of the VlsE surface protein of Borrelia burgdorferi. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 2004. 11:458–462.

11. Park KH, Chang WH, Schwan TG. Identification and characterization of Lyme disease spirochetes, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, isolated in Korea. J Clin Microbiol. 1993. 31:1831–1837.

12. Speck S, Reiner B, Streich WJ, Reusch C, Wittenbrink MM. Canine borreliosis: a laboratory diagnostic trial. Vet Microbiol. 2007. 120:132–141.