2017 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

EFFECT OF DOXYCYCLINE ADMINISTRATION ON ANTI-BODIES AGAINST DIFFERENT BORRELIA BURGDORFERI PEPTIDES. M.R. Lappin 1 , S. Moroff 2 . 1 Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA, 2 Antech Laboratories, Lake Success, NY, USA Borrelia burgdorferi is transmitted by Ixodes spp. and is associated with inflammatory arthritis or nephritis in some dogs (Lyme Disease). A number of diagnostic modalities have been evaluated to aid in the diagnosis of Lyme disease in dogs, with serological testing proving to be the most beneficial. Antibodies against outer surface protein A (OspA), OspC, OspF and antibodies against the C6 peptide are currently used most frequently in commercially available serological assays. Antibodies against OspC are often the first detected in serum after a new exposure to B. burgdorferi. In humans with Ixodes spp. infestation, doxycycline treatment has been shown to block progression of B. burgdorferi infection but whether this occurs in dogs is unknown. The purpose of this study is to report the effect of doxycycline administration on serological responses to OspA, OspC, OspF, and C6 peptide in dogs experimentally infested with wild-caught I. scapularis.