The earlier Lyme disease is diagnosed, the better the chances of stopping the resulting ill effects. Unfortunately, catching it early is easier said than done. Previously, tests either haven’t been sufficiently sensitive or accurate.
Last week, Cornell University announced a breakthrough. Researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) have developed a breakthrough multiplex procedure.
Bettina Wagner is the Harry M. Zweig Associate Professor in Equine Health, and is also the test’s lead developer. She tells us the new test can detect three different antibodies produced in response to the bacteria associated with Lyme disease using a single test on the sample, [and thereby] eliminates the need for separate tests.
In addition, it requires smaller samples and answers more questions about the disease. Multiplex technology has been used for the last decade, but the AHDC is the first veterinary diagnostic laboratory to use it to test for Lyme disease.
The bacteria that cause Lyme disease are particularly difficult to detect, according to Wagner, because after infection they tend to hide where they can’t be found. They bury in the joints of dogs, causing arthritis or lameness.
Serious kidney disease has also been associated with Lyme infections in dogs. In humans and horses, they also burrow into the nervous system, in the spine or the brain, causing pain, paralysis or behavioral changes. By the time such clinical signs appear, the bacteria are usually not in circulation anymore.