Antibiotic treatment of experimentally Borrelia burgdorferi-infected ponies.
Abstract: The objective of this study is to determine whether doxycycline, ceftiofur or tetracycline could be effectively used to treat equine Lyme disease. Ponies experimentally infected with Borrelia burgdorferi by tick exposure were treated with doxycycline, ceftiofur or tetracycline for 4 weeks (28 days). Doxycyline and ceftiofur treatment were inconsistent in eliminating persistent infection in this experimental model. However, tetracycline treatment seems to eliminate persistent infection. Although serum antibody levels to B. burgdorferi in all ponies declined gradually after antibiotic treatment, three out of four ponies treated with doxycline and two out of four ponies treated with ceftiofur, serum KELA titers were raised again 3 month after treatment was discontinued. Five months after antibiotic treatment, tissues aseptically collected at necropsy from ponies with increased antibody levels after antibiotic treatment also showed culture positive to B. burgdorferi in various post-mortem tissues. However, all four-tetracycline treatment ponies showed a negative antibody level and culture negative from post-mortem tissues. Untreated infected ponies maintained high KELA titers throughout the study and were tissue culture positive.
Publication Date: 2005-05-03 PubMed ID: 15863289DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2005.02.006Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article is about a study that evaluates the effectiveness of different antibiotics (doxycycline, ceftiofur, and tetracycline) in treating Lyme disease in horses, specifically those infected with Borrelia burgdorferi.
Objective and Methodology of the Study
The research’s main goal was to assess the efficacy of doxycycline, ceftiofur, and tetracycline in treating Lyme disease in horses. In the study:
- Ponies were artificially infected with Borrelia burgdorferi through tick exposure.
- The infected ponies were treated with the three antibiotics for a period of 4 weeks (28 days).
Results of the Study
After the therapeutic period, the outcomes were as follows:
- Neither doxycycline nor ceftiofur consistently eradicated the persistent infection in the experimented model.
- Tetracycline, on the other hand, appeared to eliminate the persistent infection effectively.
- All ponies displayed a gradual decrease in serum antibody levels to B. burgdorferi following the treatment. However, serum KELA titers (a measure of antibody activity) in three out of four ponies treated with doxycycline and two out of four ponies treated with ceftiofur rose again three months after the treatment was stopped.
Findings at Necropsy
At necropsy, five months after the antibiotic therapy:
- Ponies that showed increased antibody levels post-treatment also exhibited culture findings of B. burgdorferi in various tissues collected aseptically.
- Nevertheless, all four ponies that received the tetracycline treatment showed no signs of the disease—in terms of both antibody levels and post-mortem culture tests.
- Infected ponies that were not treated maintained high KELA titers throughout the study and were positive for B. burgdorferi in the tissue culture study.
This study suggests that among the evaluated antibiotics, tetracycline is the most effective in treating Lyme disease in horses infected with B. burgdorferi.
Cite This Article
APA
Chang YF, Ku YW, Chang CF, Chang CD, McDonough SP, Divers T, Pough M, Torres A.
(2005).
Antibiotic treatment of experimentally Borrelia burgdorferi-infected ponies.
Vet Microbiol, 107(3-4), 285-294.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2005.02.006 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. yc42@cornell.edu
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
- Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
- Biopsy / veterinary
- Blotting, Western / veterinary
- Borrelia burgdorferi / genetics
- Borrelia burgdorferi / growth & development
- Cephalosporins / therapeutic use
- DNA, Bacterial / chemistry
- DNA, Bacterial / genetics
- Doxycycline / therapeutic use
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / veterinary
- Female
- Histocytochemistry / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horse Diseases / transmission
- Horses
- Ixodes / microbiology
- Lyme Disease / drug therapy
- Lyme Disease / microbiology
- Lyme Disease / transmission
- Lyme Disease / veterinary
- Male
- Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
- Tetracycline / therapeutic use
Citations
This article has been cited 21 times.- Adkison H, Embers ME. Lyme disease and the pursuit of a clinical cure.. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023;10:1183344.
- Guarino C, Pinn-Woodcock T, Levine DG, Miller J, Johnson AL. Case Report: Nuchal Bursitis Associated With Borrelia burgdorferi Infection in a Horse.. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:743067.
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