Ann Agric Environ Med 2002, 9, 137–140
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, Szczecin University, Szczecin, Poland
CANINE BORRELIOSIS - EPIDEMIOLOGY AND DIAGNOSTICS
INRODUCTION
Borreliosis, or Lyme disease, is caused by spirochaetes
that belong to the group Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.
Canine borreliosis was first described in the USA in the
1980s [22, 27, 28], and in nearly all European countries in
the recent years. Reports on canine infections by B.
burgdorferi have come from Germany [2], the Netherlands
[15, 19, 20], Belgium [34], France [10, 12], the United
Kingdom [32], Slovakia [48], and Spain [11].
Ticks of the genus Ixodes, which are vectors of B.
burgdorferi, carry the bacteria to many vertebrates, as the
spirochaete does not exhibit any particular specificity
towards the host species. In natural conditions, the clinical
form of borreliosis is found only in species from outside
the forest biotope, i.e. humans, dogs, cats, horses, and
cows; however, most often it affects dogs and humans [1,
28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 38, 47]. Lack of clinical infection
symptoms in forest animals means that a balanced state in
this parasite-host system has been reached as a result of
evolutionary long-term relation. On the other hand, the
probably young relation with humans or dogs may be
fatal for the host organism.
When a tick sucks blood, the spirochaetes B. burgdorferi
first enter the skin of the host [6] and then spread to
adjacent tissues where the infection stabilizes, not being
eliminated by the host immune system [39]. The processes
that initiate and sustain the disease have not been well-
defined; however, it is known that B. burgdorferi occurs in
the inflamed and chronically infected tissues of the host
[4, 5, 17, 51, 56]. Each year in Europe, North America,
and Asia, large numbers of people and animals are being
infected, not all the infected individuals however, develop
clinical symptoms of the disease [49]. Berglund et al. [3],
Levy et al. [26], and Steere et al. [46] estimate that such
individuals comprise 5% to 50% of those infected. It is
not clear which factors decide the outcome of the
infection; however, has been observed that many Borrelia
cells in the tissues of experimentally infected mice might
have developed an inflammatory response [37].
Borreliosis, or Lyme disease, is caused by spirochaetes
that belong to the group Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.
Canine borreliosis was first described in the USA in the
1980s [22, 27, 28], and in nearly all European countries in
the recent years. Reports on canine infections by B.
burgdorferi have come from Germany [2], the Netherlands
[15, 19, 20], Belgium [34], France [10, 12], the United
Kingdom [32], Slovakia [48], and Spain [11].
Ticks of the genus Ixodes, which are vectors of B.
burgdorferi, carry the bacteria to many vertebrates, as the
spirochaete does not exhibit any particular specificity
towards the host species. In natural conditions, the clinical
form of borreliosis is found only in species from outside
the forest biotope, i.e. humans, dogs, cats, horses, and
cows; however, most often it affects dogs and humans [1,
28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 38, 47]. Lack of clinical infection
symptoms in forest animals means that a balanced state in
this parasite-host system has been reached as a result of
evolutionary long-term relation. On the other hand, the
probably young relation with humans or dogs may be
fatal for the host organism.
When a tick sucks blood, the spirochaetes B. burgdorferi
first enter the skin of the host [6] and then spread to
adjacent tissues where the infection stabilizes, not being
eliminated by the host immune system [39]. The processes
that initiate and sustain the disease have not been well-
defined; however, it is known that B. burgdorferi occurs in
the inflamed and chronically infected tissues of the host
[4, 5, 17, 51, 56]. Each year in Europe, North America,
and Asia, large numbers of people and animals are being
infected, not all the infected individuals however, develop
clinical symptoms of the disease [49]. Berglund et al. [3],
Levy et al. [26], and Steere et al. [46] estimate that such
individuals comprise 5% to 50% of those infected. It is
not clear which factors decide the outcome of the
infection; however, has been observed that many Borrelia
cells in the tissues of experimentally infected mice might
have developed an inflammatory response [37].
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