Arthritis caused by Borrelia burgdorferi in dogs.
From October 1982 to May 1984, we studied 34 dogs from the Lyme, Conn area that had a history of tick exposure and lameness associated with pain, warmth, and/or swelling in one or more joints. Large numbers of polymorphonuclear leukocytes were seen in Giemsa-stained smears of synovial fluid from 9 dogs, and spirochetes (Borrelia burgdorferi) were found in 1 sample by darkfield microscopy and immunoperoxidase techniques. The geometric mean antibody titer to B burgdorferi in the 34 dogs was 1:2,700, compared with 1:285 in 43 clinically normal dogs from the same area (P less than 0.0001) and 1:50 in 29 dogs from an area in New Jersey that is not endemic for human Lyme disease (P less than 0.00001). We concluded that B burgdorferi in dogs may cause arthritis similar to that in human Lyme disease.
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D001898:Borrelia / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003237:Connecticut; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D009515:New Jersey
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial