Review
Why are there several species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato detected in dogs and humans?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2014.02.014Get rights and content

Highlights

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    Humans and dogs harbor more species of B. burgdorferi s.l. than other animals.

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    Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. as young phylogenetic system.

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    Humans and dogs have not acquired ability to destroy most of the Borrelia genospecies yet.

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    Co-infections with the tick-borne pathogens in dogs.

Abstract

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is a group of spirochete bacteria species some of which cause borreliosis in humans and dogs. Humans and dogs are susceptible to illness from many of the same tick-borne pathogens, including B. burgdorferi s.l. (Bbsl). Little is known about the pathogenic role of the species of Bbsl in canines. The molecular methods which detect and amplify the DNA of borreliae and allow differentiating borreliae species or strains have not been used in canine diagnostics yet. Until now, it has been believed that in European dogs, like in humans, at least three pathogenic species occur but the most frequently described symptoms may be associated with the infection caused by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto species.

A dog as well as a human is a host for many species of Bbsl, because borreliacidal ability of serum of dogs and humans is evident only in certain genospecies of Bbsl. Therefore both a dog and a human harbor more species than in case of some wild animal species which create older phylogenetic Bbsl species–host systems and these animals may act even as a non-competent reservoir host. Apart from many genospecies of Bbsl, a dog harbors other tick-borne agents and dual or triple infections may occur.

Section snippets

Short history of the etiological factor of Lyme disease and epidemiology

Symptoms of Lyme disease have been known in medicine for over 100 years, but due to their multifaceted nature, they were at first considered as several separate diseases. The first symptom was described in 1853, when Buchwald reported it as “idiopathic skin atrophy” (Gustafson, 1994). Attention heightened from 1975 after Steere et al. (1983) identified the disease in children and adolescents in Old Lyme, Connecticut (USA). A strange lesion of joint inflammation was observed regularly in this

Pathogenic role of the species of B. burgdorferi s.l. in canines

In Europe, the three most prevalent species of the B. burgdorferi s.l. are characterized by a different organotropic and pathogenic potential and, as mentioned above, different species are often associated with different clinical manifestations of the diseases in humans. So far, very little is known of the pathogenic role of the species of B. burgdorferi s.l. in canines, because molecular methods are applied for differentiation of Borrelia species or strains, and they are not commonly used in

Why do human and dog harbor several species of B. burgdorferi s.l.?

In natural circumstances, the clinical form of borreliosis is found only in species from outside the wood biotope, i.e., human, dog, cat, horse and cow, however most often, it affects a dog and a humans (Appel et al., 1993, Magnarelli et al., 2001, May et al., 1994, Müller et al., 2002, Parker and White, 1992, Steere, 1989). Lack of clinical infection symptoms in forest animals implies that a balanced state in this parasite–host system has been reached as a result of long-term relationships (

Co-infections with the tick-borne pathogens in dogs

Ticks may also transmit other pathogens which complicate the diagnosis. Reports of co-infection with multiple tick-borne organisms in humans and dogs were published (Kordick et al., 1999, Krause et al., 2002, Hermanowska-Szpakowicz et al., 2004, Welc-Faleciak et al., 2009, Rymaszewska and Adamska, 2011, Barth et al., 2012). Among those pathogens there are Anaplasma (Ehrlichia) phagocytophilum bacteria and Babesia protozoa, which, as our studies indicate, coexist in north-western Polish

Conclusion

Dogs, as well as humans, can be infected with more species of B. burgdorferi s.l. than other animals from the forest habitat. This is not only because of their relatively lower exposure to ticks or current lifestyle, but also because these bacteria form a young phylogenetic system and the serum of the dog and the human has not acquired thus far the ability to destroy some species of these bacteria. Dogs apart from many genospecies of B. burgdorferi s.l. harbor other tick-borne agents and dual

Declaration of interest

Author has no declaration of interest to report.

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