Cornell's Animal Health Diagnostic Lab in Ithaca, NY announced late on Thursday that there is a new Lyme Disease test available for diagnostic testing in dogs. Blood samples are submitted for the new antibody test that will replace ELISA and Western blot testing for Lyme Disease.
Lyme Disease is a bane of existence for many Belgian owners. Belgians are active outdoor enthusiasts. They love to hike, herd, track and simply run for fun through fields and woods. Unfortunately many of those fields and woods are infested with Lyme Disease carrying ticks. Lyme Disease is found over most of North America as seen on this map.
Ticks carrying Lyme Disease (and often other tick borne illnesses as well) latch on to an unsuspecting dog. The tick will feed on your Belgian's blood and in exchange, give your Belgian a dose of the spirochete called Borrelia burgdorferi. Belgians with Lyme Disease generally show lameness. Some of the dogs will have enlarged lymph nodes, fever and severe pain. A few dogs will develop kidney failure. Most dogs will respond to doxycycline treatment. Dogs may develop a chronic form of the disease. Some dogs will show a relapse after treatment if they are stressed.
It has been very difficult with present tests to distinguish between dogs with antibodies from having been vaccinated for Lyme Disease and dogs who are actually infected with Lyme Disease. The new test can make that distinction and in addition, tell a dog with an early stage infection from a dog with a low grade chronic infection. This additional information can help your veterinarian plan the ideal treatment protocol for your Belgian.
The new "multiplex" Lyme Disease test looks at three separate antibodies to the spirochete that causes Lyme Disease. Using the input from all three antibodies helps to make the distinctions listed above. This test requires a blood sample from your dog so it is relatively easy to do. The cost for test itself is $36. Expect to pay an additional fee for the drawing of the blood sample and the shipping to the lab.
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