Abstract
A study was conducted to assess the susceptibility of cats to Borrelia burgdor .feri, and to determine the humoral and histopathologic responses in the cat. In this study, adult immunocompetent cats were used as an experimental model for Lyme borreliosis. Three isolates of B. burgdor .feri (IO' live cells) originating from tick and flea isolates were injected intradermally into three groups of cats. Blood samples were drawn biweekly for hematologic and serologic studies from all animals and every four weeks one cat from each group was necropsied for gross- and histopathologic study. Findings were compared to an uninfected control group. Seroconversion was observed in all inoculated cats three weeks after inoculation. Subsequent serologic and hematologic data suggest cyclic response patterns to infection which, along with histopathologic responses may be influenced by isolate origin. An atypical lymphocyte-like cell was observed in cats exposed to B. burgdor e a d in one control .f ii n cat later found to be infected with Haemobartonellafelis. Borrelia burgdor e was not demonstrable in tissues of infected cats by histopathologic procedures. Although cats are susceptible to B. burgdorferi, overt clinical signs were minimal over a period of 23 weeks. Data suggests that vector origin may play a role in clinical manifestations of the disease.
Omran, Mohamed Tawfik Mohamed (1995). Humoral and histologic responses to Borrelia burgdorferi in a feline model. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -1560133.