Publikationsdatenbank

Lyme-Borreliose beim Pferd?
Vergleichende Betrachtungen zum direkten und indirekten Erregernachweis (2002)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Schönert, S.

Grabner, A.

Heidrich, J.

Schönberg, A.

Nöckler, K.

Bahn, P.

Luge, E.

Brem, S.

Müller, W.

Quelle

Der praktische Tierarzt : Zeitschrift für fortschrittliche Veterinärmedizin ; offizielles Organ des Bundesverbandes Praktizierender Tierärzte e.V.

Bandzählung: 83

Heftzählung: 12

Seiten: 1064 – 1068

ISSN: 0032-681x

Kontakt

Pferdeklinik

Oertzenweg 19 b
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 62299 / 62300
pferdeklinik@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

In the horse, a tentative diagnosis of lyme disease is often based on a positive test for antibodies against B. burgdorferi sensu lato and the concomitant presence of symptoms as described in literature. The present study deals with the question of whether horses in Germany really suffer from lyme disease by implementing direct and indirect tests for B. burgdorferi. In a randomized study, patients of the Klinik fur Pferde (n=220) were serologically tested for B. burgdorferi s. l. (IgG antibodies) with three different ELISAs and also an immunofluorescence test (IFT). In addition, samples from horses with clinical signs of lyme disease (n=117) (blood, skin, spinal and synovial fluid) were tested with direct methods (cultivation, PCR). Serological tests showed high discrepancies within the seroreagents. Cultivation (n=55) of B. burgdorferi s. l. was negative. Direct identification of B. burgdorferi s. l. by OspA-specific nested PCR was positive in 12 of 74 samples. A clear correlation between symptoms, positive serologic test and DNA specific for Borrelia could not be demonstrated. The results show that indirect tests alone are not suitable for a definite diagnosis of lyme disease in the horse. Serological tests must be confirmed by direct test methods. Definite diagnosis of equine lyme disease seems to be problematic in Germany