Dog Reactions to the Lyme Vaccine

Lyme Disease

• Lyme disease is carried by Ixodes scapularis, or deer ticks, so named for their tendency to use deer as their parasitic hosts. Dogs, horses and hunters that frequent the areas where these ticks are prevalent run the risk of a tick hitching a ride home. Veterinarian Allen Schoen says, “Lyme disease is caused by an organism known as a spirochete and named Borrelia burgdorferi.”

  Schoen states that symptoms of the disease are pain, stiffness and sensitivity to touch caused by muscle spasms. It can cause the lymph nodes to swell and result in lameness and difficulty walking. Symptoms are sometimes preceded by a bull's-eye type lesion around the tick bite. If the disease is not caught quickly, it can affect the cardiac, renal and nervous systems. The treatment is an aggressive round of antibiotics often given for a month or longer.

Vaccinations

• There are three types of vaccinations available for Lyme disease; each must be given before a dog has been bitten by a deer tick, and yearly booster shots must follow. The Mar Vista Animal Medical Center website explains the differences:

  Fort Dodge’s vaccine is made up of whole spirochetes that have been killed. There are parts of the organism that are not needed for immune effects and can cause reactions to the vaccine.

  Merial’s vaccine is a recombinant one. It is supposed to be more effective because the antibodies it creates prevent the tick from releasing the spirochete that causes the disease. It is also supposed to cause fewer reactions.

  Intervet-Schering-Plough's vaccine works on the same proteins as Meriel’s vaccine, but adds another level of protection by targeting an additional protein.

Reactions to the Vaccines

• Schoen reports that one side effect of the vaccine gives the dog the same symptoms as the disease. Other side effects are rheumatoid arthritis and kidney failure. The Mar Vista website states that additional problems occur when testing for the disease because of the difficulties in culturing the spirochete for Lyme disease; dogs that have been given the vaccine often test positive when they do not have the disease. Also, many dogs develop the antibodies on their own. With so many problems in testing, vaccinations sometimes make it more difficult to know which dogs to treat. A new test that looks for the C6 peptide, which is present when a dog has been exposed to Lyme disease, helps to resolve some of the issues.

Reservations About Vaccinations

• Both Schoen and the Mar Vista clinic express reservations about vaccinations because only five to 10 out of every 100 dogs that are infected actually get sick, and the ones that do can be treated with antibiotics with positive results. Plus, the vaccinations, boosters and medical care for reactions could end up costing more than the cure and be more traumatic to the dog. Also, most exposure can be avoided by using prevention, removing ticks from the dog’s coat on a daily basis, and keeping pets away from areas where ticks are prevalent.

Tick Control

• Ticks that carry Lyme disease need 48 hours to infect their host. If they are removed from the dog before that 48-hour time period is up, the spirochete cannot be expelled into the dog’s blood and the dog cannot be infected. Using tick control on the dog is therefore an effective means of disease control. Tick control products that kill the tick or cause it to drop off within 48 hours will accomplish the same goal. Veterinarians can make recommendations on the products that are appropriate.

  According to Christie Keith of Caber Feidh Scottish Deerhounds, Lyme disease vaccines do not affect any other diseases that are transmitted by ticks, so they do not eliminate the need to use tick control methods. She feels that the benefits of vaccinating are not worth risk of possible reactions.