Equine Lyme Disease: A Review of Experimental Disease Production, Treatment Efficacy, and Vaccine Protection

摘要

Borrelia burgdirferi infection in ponies causes consistent and predictable microscopic disease. Clinical disease appears to be less common. Tetracycline administered intravenously can be an effective treatment. Vaccination prior to infection is able to prevent infection. Lyme disease (LD) is the most important arthropod-borne bacterial infection in the United States. Affecting horses, people, dogs, and cats, LD is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. B. burg-dorferi is maintained in a 2-yrenzootic cycle that involves Ixodes sp. ticks and mammals. Infection generally occurs from larval, nymph, or adult tick feeding. In horses, it is not known if larval and nymph bites play an important role in Lyme infection. Ticks are usually attached forat least 24 h for B. burgdorferi transmission.