Open AccessBiopsy of canine ear tissue for detection of Borrelia burgdorferi following Ixodes dammini feeding
Author(s) -
Bosler Edward M.,
Evans Robert D.,
Schneider Edward M.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1992.tb05588.x
Subject(s) - borrelia burgdorferi , biopsy , pathology , biology , medicine , immunology , antibody
A punch biopsy method was developed to detect and cultivate Borrelia burgdorferi from canine ear tissue. The biopsy procedure was sensitive in that spirochetes were detected in 100% of the dogs upon which infected ticks had fed. B. burgdorferi could be cultured as early as 6 days after tick feeding at which time the organisms could not be concurrently recovered from peripheral blood. The ear punch biopsy provides a reliable method for sampling live canines and should prove useful for detecting early B. burgdorferi infection and for monitoring duration of non‐disseminated infection. Additionally, the procedure will aid in the development of an animal model for evaluation of preventive and therapeutic treatment modalities.