Serological Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi among Horses in Korea.
- Author:
Seung Hun LEE
1
;
Sun Hee YUN
;
Eunsang CHOI
;
Yong Soo PARK
;
Sang Eun LEE
;
Gil Jae CHO
;
Oh Deog KWON
;
Dongmi KWAK
Author Information
- Publication Type:Brief Communication ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi; equine; ELISA; PCR; serology
- MeSH: Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial/blood; Borrelia burgdorferi/*physiology; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary; Female; Horse Diseases/*epidemiology; Horses; Lyme Disease/epidemiology/*veterinary; Male; Republic of Korea/epidemiology
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology 2016;54(1):97-101
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Lyme disease is a tick-borne zoonotic infectious disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. The present study assessed the infection status of B. burgdorferi among horses reared in Korea using ELISA and PCR. Between 2009 and 2013, blood samples were collected from 727 horses throughout Korea. Data for each animal including age, gender, breed, and region of sample collection were used for epidemiological analysis. Overall, 38 (5.2%; true prevalence: 5.5%) of 727 horses were seropositive by ELISA. There were statistically significant differences according to breed and region (P<0.001) whose differences might be attributed to the ecology of vector ticks and climate conditions. Using 2 nested PCR, none of the samples tested positive for B. burgdorferi. Thus, a positive ELISA result can indicate only that the tested horse was previously exposed to B. burgdorferi, with no certainty over the time of exposure. Since global warming is likely to increase the abundance of ticks in Korea, continuous monitoring of tick-borne diseases in Korean horses is needed.
