Clinical Findings Associated with Borrelia burgdorferi Infection in the Dog

Abstract

Borrelia burgdorferi, the aetiological agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted to humans and animals by Ixodes ticks during the blood meal. In dogs the micro-organism is known to induce a variety of clinical symptoms, particularly acute and chronic skin lesions, polyarthritis, pericarditis and inflammation of the central and peripheral nervous systems. The diagnosis of borreliosis is made on the basis of a history of tick exposure, symptomatology, micro-biological and serological examinations and treatment response (Straubinger, 2000). The course of the disease may be asymptomatic, although the serological tests are often positive, with high antibody titres possibly indicating a previous disease or premunition (Burrascano, 2000). In this paper we report the course, the clinical features and the therapeutic protocol in a Pitbull seropositive for B. burgdorferi.