The dog as a sentinel for human infection: prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi
- From: "CaliforniaLyme" <CaliforniaLyme@xxxxxx>
- Date: 16 Apr 2005 08:51:26 -0700
1: Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2004 Fall;4(3):221-9. Related Articles,
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The dog as a sentinel for human infection: prevalence of Borrelia
burgdorferi C6 antibodies in dogs from southeastern and mid-Atlantic
states.
Duncan AW, Correa MT, Levine JF, Breitschwerdt EB.
Department of Clinical Sciences, North Carolina State University,
College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606, USA.
Lyme disease is the most frequently reported human vector-associated
disease in the United States. Infection occurs after the bite of an
Ixodid tick that is infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. Dogs have often
been reported to serve as effective sentinel animals to assess the risk
of human B. burgdorferi infection. Based on published data of human
Lyme disease case numbers and our clinical impressions, we hypothesized
that canine exposure to B. burgdorferi would be lower in North Carolina
when compared to the exposure in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
To address this hypothesis, we evaluated B. burgdorferi exposure status
utilizing a specific and sensitive C6 peptide-based enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay. Our convenience sample included 1,666 canine serum
samples submitted to the Vector Borne Disease Diagnostic Laboratory
from North Carolina (n = 987), Virginia (n = 472), Maryland (n = 167),
and Pennsylvania (n = 40). Comparisons among states were made using the
Chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test; p-values were adjusted for
multiple comparisons using the Bonferroni correction. A Chi-square test
for trend was used to determine if there was an increase in the
frequency of seroreactors associated with the geographical origin of
the samples. The proportion of seroreactive dogs in North Carolina was
markedly lower (p < 0.008) than that observed in dogs from Virginia,
Maryland, and Pennsylvania. These results support the hypothesis that
B. burgdorferi transmission seems to occur infrequently in North
Carolina dogs as compared to dogs residing in other southeastern and
mid-Atlantic states. Furthermore, they support the utility of dogs as a
sentinel to characterize the risk of B. burgdorferi transmission to
humans in a defined geographical location.
PMID: 15631067 [PubMed - in process]
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