Dogs as sentinels for Lyme disease in Massachusetts.

Abstract

BACKGROUND. An investigation of the relationship between incident human cases of Lyme disease and seroprevalence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi in dogs was undertaken in order to determine whether dogs might serve as sentinels for Lyme disease. METHODS. 3011 canine serum samples were analyzed by ELISA for antibody to B. burgdorferi. Records of incident human cases of Lyme disease were obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. RESULTS. Regression analyses of the relationship between the log10 (mean incidence in people 1985-1989) and canine seroprevalence from July 1988-August 1989 revealed that canine seroprevalence was highly predictive of incidence (R2 = 0.86, p less than .0001). A logistic regression model that incorporates the altitude of the town where each dog was resident, the date of sampling, and information on each dog's age, sex, and breed adequately explained the risk of canine seropositivity. Dogs resident at altitudes less than 200 feet, of sporting or large mixed breeds, and greater than two years of age were five times, four times, and almost three times more likely, respectively, to exhibit seropositivity than were other dogs. CONCLUSIONS. Estimates of the prevalence of antibody to B. burgdorferi in dog populations offers a sensitive, reliable, and convenient measure of the potential risk to people of B. burgdorferi in the environment. Risk factors for canine seropositivity may directly or indirectly illuminate certain aspects of the epidemiology of human Lyme disease.

Soroprevalência de Borrelia burgdorferi latu sensu associada à presença de carrapatos em cães de áreas rurais do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

“…burgdorferi encontrada em cães varia de acordo com a região fisiográfica (MAGNARELLI et al, 1985;AZUMA et al, 1994;WRIGHT et al, 1997;SALINAS-MELENDEZ et al, 1999;SOARES, et al, 1999a;JOPPERT et al, 2001) sendo mais elevada em áreas endêmicas para a borreliose humana (LINDENMAYER et al, 1991;MERINO et al, 2000;OLSON et al, 2000). JOPPERT et al (2001) que encontraram 9,7%.…”

“…O conhecimento da soroprevalência em cães pode constituir-se em um importante indicador da dispersão do agente etiológico (HOSKINS, 1991), bem como indicar o risco de exposição humana (LINDENMAYER et al, 1991). Atualmente, cães são considerados animais sentinelas para a borreliose de Lyme, cuja prevalência correlaciona-se positivamente com aquela verificada para seres humanos, na mesma área (MERINO et al, 2000;OLSON et al, 2000).…”

Canine surveillance system for Lyme borreliosis in Wisconsin and northern Illinois: geographic distribution and risk factor analysis.

“…11 Because dogs produce antibodies to B. burgdorferi 4,5 (which are detectable up to 2 years 6 ), have a travel history, and are exposed to the outdoor environment frequently, it has been postulated that they can be used as sentinels for an active surveillance program for Lyme disease. 9,12,13 Canine seroprevalence estimates have been compared with results obtained through other methods of surveillance. In Massachusetts, a significant correlation was found between human incidence of Lyme disease and canine seroprevalence.…”

The importance of dogs in eco-epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis: a review

“…Apart from above explained factors, environment can also play an important role. Dogs living at higher altitude expressed minor seroprevalence in comparison with dogs living in lower region (Lindenmayer et al, 1991). Study in Soria province in Spain by Merino et al (2000) confirmed this hypothesis by comparing the seroprevalences in dogs from other altitudes.…”

“…In short, the difference in seroprevalence may due to differences in tasks performed by dogs and therefore the different tick exposition (Daniels et al, 1993). Age de- Burgess, 1986 pendent variation in seroprevalence of Lyme disease in dogs is reported in Slovakia (Stefancikova et al, 1996), Spain (Merino et al, 2000) and North America (Cohen et al, 1990;Lindenmayer et al, 1991). Some researchers have tried to correlate the seropositivity and geno-phenotypic characteristics of dogs.…”