Cardiac manifestations of borreliosis in a dog: a case report

Abstract

In Europe Lyme disease is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. It presents with a variety of clinical manifestations including heart disease and problems of the nervous system, skin and joints. Lyme carditis occurs in 4-10% of infected humans and is characterized by a plethora of cardiovascular syndromes such as arrhythmia, myocarditis, and pericarditis among others. This article is a case report of a serologically positive (B. burgdorferi s.l.) dog, in which the antibody dynamics correlated with clinical, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic findings of heart disease resembling human Lyme-induced dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Keywords

• borreliosis
• atrial fibrillation
• serology
• cardiomegaly
• dogs