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Lyme Disease
Lyme disease and Glomerulonephritis
Early symptoms of lyme disease possible
Lyme disease vaccination
Lyme disease
Lyme diseasealso see parasites
Lyme disease and GlomerulonephritisQuestion: Dear Dr. Richards,
Can you tell me the incidence of acute renal failure in dogs who get Lyme disease? I live in an
endemic area and have a beagle. I am outside in the woods/fields with my dog for about two
hours a day. I have him vaccinated (apparently around 85% effective), I use Frontline, and also a
tick collar. I still have found deer ticks on my dog so one of the doctors in the group that I see
recommended that I don't take my dog out during tick season. This is very difficult as this area is
LOADED with ticks and my beagle lives to run around out there and track the animals. He even
has gotten deer ticks on him just in our backyoard (although obviously not as many). I am not
too worried if he gets lyme that affects his joints because from what I understand the antibiotics
are pretty effective. I am very worried however, that it affects his kidneys because I understand
even if you pick it up early, he may go into renal failure. Another vet in the group felt with the
vaccine, Frontline and collar, the risk is low. What do you think? Also, what are the signs of
renal failure in dogs? Lethargy, vomiting, change in urine output? I want to be sure I will notice if
my dog seems to be getting into trouble. Many thanks for taking the time to read this e-mail,
Tracey
Answer: Tracey-
I have not been able to locate any studies that report a specific incidence for glomerulonephritis
associated with Lyme disease. Glomerulonephritis is the form of kidney failure which is reported
to occur from Lyme disease, so if you search for information based on that, you might be able to
find something I missed. There are some veterinary internal medicine specialists who feel that
kidney disease associated with borreliosis (Lyme disease) is not very common and others who
feel that it occurs more frequently. There has been some suspicion that the Lyme vaccines may
be able to cause glomerulonephritis, but I do not think that this has ever been proven, either. I
believe that the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary hospital was keeping track of suspected
cases of this but I was not able to find a published study on this.I do not practice in an area in which Lyme disease occurs very frequently and my personal
experience with it is therefore pretty limited. However, it seems likely that using Frontline
regularly, in conjunction with amitraz collars (Preventic tm) and vaccinating for Lyme disease
should work pretty well to prevent Lyme infection.If you go to the PubMed web site, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/ and search using this
term: "Dambach DM", I think that you will find a study that discusses the kidney disease
associated with Lyme disease. Clicking on the related articles link isn't too helpful but there is a
little more information in some of the other articles.The signs of glomerulonephritis are weight loss (often the first sign), decrease in appetite or no
appetite, vomiting, lethargy, apathy, increased drinking and increased urination. The lab changes
are increases in blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, phosphorous, cholesterol and amylase.
There is usually a decrease in total protein, albumin, and red blood cell count (so anemia exists).
Mike Richards, DVM
11/15/2001
Early symptoms of Lyme Disease possible
Question: We live in an area endemic for Lyme (Northeast).
Our dog recently had a very large, light colored tick (ie not your classic
dark brown/ black dog tick). We thought it was a skin tag (that's the color
it was) so it stayed on for at least a week before we examined it with a
hand lens, discovered its tiny legs and removed it. As I understand it, the
deer ticks which carry Lyme disease are this color.He was vaccinated against Lyme disease, last booster last year. I know this
isn't 100% effective.I know that the classic symptom of Lyme disease in dogs is lameness, I
assume from arthritis. Are there any early symptoms we should be watching
this dog for now? Should/ can he be tested (since presumably he has
antibodies from the vaccine)? What is the time course from tick bite to
symptoms? I don't suppose there is any way to look for a target rash as one
can in humans and anyway as I understand it the characteristic rash doesn't
always occur anyway.THANK YOU
Answer: Mai-Lan-
I recently read a note from an epidemiologist in an area endemic for Lyme
disease and he said that less than 1% of ticks in his area carried the Lyme
disease organism. Hopefully, the odds will hold true and this won't become
a problem.The early signs of Lyme disease in dogs are supposed to be loss of
appetite, fever and lethargy. Lameness may occur at the same time or may
occur later. In some dogs, enlargement of the lymph nodes (usually
generalized enlargement) occurs. In dogs, skin signs, heart disease, kidney
problems and neurologic signs are reported to be rare. Symptoms of Lyme
disease are usually delayed for several months but start to occur about 2
months after exposure and should show up by 5 to 6 months after a dog or
cat is bitten by a tick carrying the bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi).I am hoping you won't have to deal with this problem but it would be a good
idea to keep an eye out for telltale symptoms and to write down the date of
the tick removal so you don't forget when it was, just in case.Mike Richards, DVM
5/12/2001
Question: Dear Doctor:
I am a subscriber to VetInfo, and I have a question. Both of my dogs have tested positive for
lyme disease. I am giving one Doxycycline for three weeks, and the other is going to do a round
also. My vet still recommends that they be vaccinated for lyme and this confuses me. If they are
already positive how can a vaccination help?Also, one of my dogs an Irish Setter, Ruby, has masticatory muscle myositis which she is taking
pred for. Do you think this could interfere and make matters worse for her?Please let me know at your earliest convenience. Thank you. Tina
Answer: Tina-
Detectable titers to Lyme disease (borreliosis) occur in many dogs that show no signs of illness in
areas in which Lyme disease is prevalent and in dogs that have been vaccinated for Lyme disease
but have not had the disease. This makes it really hard to diagnose Lyme disease with certainty. The
titers after vaccination may persist for a long time, so vets in areas in which this condition occurs
often recommend vaccination even when titers are positive.I don't practice in an area in which borreliosis is common. So I have limited personal experience with
this condition. The general consensus among the textbook authors for the texts I have is that it is best
not to treat dogs based on titer alone. If there are clinical signs of illness, such as painful joints,
weight loss, decrease or absence of appetite, fever and enlarged lymph nodes and if ticks have been
found on the pet within the last five to six months or are a likely problem in your area and there is a
high titer to borreliosis, then treatment is necessary. Textbook authors don't always practice in areas
in which Lyme disease occurs, either, though --- so your vet's experience with this condition has to
be weighed heavily in decision making.Prednisone use does suppress the immune system and this can make it harder to eliminate an
infection such as borreliosis. However, masticatory myositis can cause serious problems if it isn't
controlled, too. I can't tell you what your vet will recommend but I would be willing to treat both
conditions at the same time and hope that the treatment for Lyme disease was successful despite the
prednisone use, especially if Ruby isn't showing any sign of Lyme disease, such as lameness or
swelling of the lymph nodes -- although I might opt not to treat for Lyme disease at all if this is the
case. But I don't practice where this disease is prevalent and it really is important to keep that in
mind when evaluating this advice.Mike Richards, DVM
4/12/2001
Question: I am a subscriber to VetInfo Digest. My dog Jake, an eight year old
golden retriever was recently diagnosed with Lyme. He is on
antibiotics; was also given etogesic for the arthritis symptoms, which
he did very well on. He has completed his dosage of the etogesic, and I
am wondering if there is something else we should be doing before
arthritis symptoms recur or if we should wait until they do occur before
giving additional medication. Also, I was wondering if Lyme in dogs is
contagious to humans. Thanks!
Answer: Naomi-
I do not see much Lyme disease in my area so I can only report the
consensus of the literature on the subject.Lyme disease is not spread directly from dogs to humans. However, dogs can
serve as a reservoir for the infective organism, Borrelia
burgdorferi. Dogs that are infected with Borrelia organisms do develop
high enough numbers of the organism in their blood streams to infect ticks
that bite them. So if a dog in the household has Lyme disease it would
seem to increase the risk to the humans in the household, since a tick
could become infected by the dog and then attach to a person and pass the
infection on. Therefore, it is very important to try to keep ticks of the
dog and to check for ticks frequently.There does not appear to be any reason to continue medications for the
treatment of arthritis in dogs who have had Lyme disease after the
arthritis clears up. If signs of arthritis returned at a later time, it
would be a good idea to consider other possible causes, as well as
reinfection with Lyme disease.Mike Richards, DVM
7/24/2000
Question: Hi Dr. Richards,
A short history before my question:
11 month old female Rottweiler whose Xrays showed hip
dysplasia on the right rear and partially torn
cruciate in the left rear stifle. Every night at
midnight for 1-2 weeks she would wake up and start
screaming in pain which NSAIDS did little if nothing
to abet. During these episodes, she would sit bolt
upright and start backing around the room on her
haunches, as if trying to back away from whatever was
hurting her. The episodes would last about 30 seconds
and would come every minute or so until she fell into
an exhausted sleep. During this, she was terrified
and looked to us to stop the pain, which we couldn't
do.We took her to the vet every day and finally to an
orthopedic specialist who said the hip dysplasia and
torn ligament would not be causing these sypmtoms. He
did a test for Lyme Disease, which came back positive.
The medicine for Lyme Disease seems to be helping, as
the symptoms described above have disappeared.My question is, what are the symptoms for Lyme Disease
in dogs? I think it can cause dementia in people. Is
this the same for dogs? We are at our wit's end
trying to keep her comfortable and would like to be
able to recognize other symptoms as hey arise. How
long should she be on the medicine?Any advice you can give would be much appreciated.
Tania
Answer: Tania-
Lyme disease in dogs usually causes lameness. There may be mild swelling of
joints but often this is not present. Fever may or may not occur. Lymph
node enlargement may or may not occur. Some dogs don't eat well when they
are suffering from this infection and others appear to be pretty depressed.
Much more rarely there may be kidney or neurologic damage associated with
Lyme disease. Heart problems are also sometimes reported.My personal experience with this disease is limited, as it is not as common
in Virginia as in more Northern states. However, we do see a fair number of
dogs that have positive titers to the disease without the clinical sign of
lameness, so I think that a positive titer test has to be considered
suspicious but not diagnostic. I have not seen a case of this involving
neurologic signs so I do not know what the signs might be, although I do
know that sometimes seizures are reported.Antibiotics are usually continued for three to four weeks, although 14 days
is the minimum recommended administration time. This partly depends on the
antibiotic being used. Tetracyclines, including doxycycline, are most
commonly recommended and they should be used for the longer time period.
The new cephalosporins are also effective and may be used for the shorter
time periods, which may be recommended partially due to the cost of these
medications.If lameness, particularly lameness that seemed to involve some
incoordination, was the initial problem leading to the diagnosis of a
cruciate ligament problem and hip dysplasia, I would be wary of two
diseases that seem to be predominantly rottweiler illnesses. They are
leukoencephalomyelopathy and canine neuroaxonal dystrophy. These disorders
cause abnormal gaits. Both diseases start out with mild clinical signs and
gradually progress over time to severe incoordination. I think that
leukoencephalomyelopathy may have some pain associated with it, since it is
supposed to be possible to confuse it with cervical disc disease, but I am
not certain of this. These are not common problems but since both are
known to occur pretty much exclusively in rotties and both can appear to
cause lameness, it seemed important to mention them.We have seen the kind of pain that you describe in several young dogs with
encephalitis. In general, the antibiotics that help with Lyme disease will
also help with encephalitis, so if this is present, the treatment being
given is probably appropriate.It is important to remember that even if hip dysplasia isn't the primary
problem, it can definitely be a contributing factor and it will sometimes
cause enough pain to interefere with sleeping. In addition, this may be a
future complicating factor if another illness is the predominant problem
right now. So don't lose track of this problem in the search for others.If the problems recur, it is really important to keep track of when the
symptoms reappear and what might have precipitated them. Then get back in
touch with your vet and keep working towards a diagnosis.One thing that I think about, but have absolutely no way of proving or even
really knowing for sure exists, is headaches in dogs. There are several
causes of really severe headaches in juvenile humans, so it seems logical
that this problem may occur in dogs. For this reason, I think that good
pain relief is important when there are mystery illnesses. I tend to try
the more potent pain relievers, such as carprofen (Rimadyl Rx), etodolac
(Etogesic Rx), hydrocodone, or even oxymorphone, earlier, rather than
later. But again, I have no way of knowing, or proving, that this is a
possible problem.Keep in contact with your vet and the neurologist and keep reporting
symptoms as they occur. This is an unusual problem and it can take a while
to sort through all the possible problems in this sort of case.Mike Richards, DVM
4/22/2000
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