Lecture 15 - Lyme Disease

Incidental

What type of host is also called an accidental host, and is a host that can become infected with a pathogen but is not essential for the maintenance of the agent in nature?

Dead-end

What type of host does not transmit the infectious agent any further?

Accidental

Dogs and humans are both what type of host for lyme disease? However, dogs are dead-end hosts while humans can spread it further.

Lyme

What disease is the leading cause of tick-borne disease and has the highest prevalence in the eastern US?

Burgdorferi

Which species of Borrelia causes Lyme disease in North America and Europe and is the most common one?

Mayonii

Which species of Borrelia is seen to cause Lyme disease only in the upper midwest?

Asia

Borrelia afzelii and garinii are both seen to cause Lyme disease in Europe and what other continent?

Meta

Lyme disease uses what type of life cycle as a zoonosis?

White-footed Mouse

What animal is the primary reservoir host for Lyme disease in the eastern US? In the west coast lizards perform this role but are inefficient reservoirs.

Pacificus

What Ixodes species is the vector for Lyme disease in the west? It is also called the western blacklegged tick.

Scapularis

What Ixodes species is the vector for Lyme disease in the NE, mid-Atlantic, NC, and US? It is also called the blacklegged tick and is the only one to also spread B. mayonii.

Nymph

Lyme disease is typically transmitted via bites from what tick life stage? Adults can also do it but less often.

No

Can dogs further transmit Lyme disease?

Erythema migrans

What specific clinical sign is seen in Lyme disease in humans?

Less

Are acute onset poly-arthropathy, accompanying pyrexia, glomerular disease due to Ag/Ab complexes, and cardiac/neurological diseases more or less commonly seen among dogs (and horses) that are positive for Lyme disease? However, these are the only clinical signs associated with it.

Yes

Does the SNAP 4DX Plus test provide a significant positive titer as evidence of exposure to Lyme disease?

C6

What antibody test in dogs is used to test for Lyme disease? Antibodies against this peptide indicate the presence of natural infection because they are not present in vaccinated dogs, and the protein is not expressed by Bb in the tick or in the vaccine. A quantitative test for this can be done but there is no association between the magnitude of the titer and disease severity, and the test is usually done to assess response to treatment.

Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis

What two co-infections are most commonly seen alongside Lyme disease?

Alpha-Gal

What syndrome is sometimes seen in humans infected with Lyme disease, and is also called a red meat allergy? The bite of the lone star tick transmits the sugar molecule galactose-a-1,3-galactose, causing some to develop a mild-severe allergic reaction to this molecule found in red meat products. It affects roughly 450,000 people.

Doxycycline

Acute arthritis caused by Lyme disease will respond quickly to what antibiotic? Dogs with chronic immune-mediated polyarthropathy will require steroids instead.

Yes

Should all dogs in Bb-endemic and emerging areas be screened for infection?

Proteinuria

All Bb-seropositive dogs in NA should be tested for the presence of what condition/clinical sign?

10

For dogs sick with Lyme disease, the first choice of treatment is Doxycycline given at what dose in mg/kg/day for one month?

Mycophenolate

What drug, a steroid, is given to treat Lyme nephritis suspects that are not responding to Doxycycline or PLN standard protocol?

Yes

Should all dogs at risk for Lyme disease be given tick control?