Horses and cattle:

The significance of LD as a clinical concern in these large animal species remains unclear. However:

• B. burgdorferi infection has been associated with arthropathy and uveitis in a horse (sero [+], culture [-]).
• B. burgdorferi infection has been associated with encephalitis in a horse (sero [+] and culture [+]).
• B. burgdorferi infection has been associated with arthropathy and multisystemic disease in a cow (sero [+] and culture [+]).
  • In addition, cutaneous lesions have been attributed to LD in cattle.
• Serosurveys have shown up to 18% seropositivity among horses on the East Coast (NJ) and 7% of cows/66% of herds in WI are seropositive.
• A recent study demonstrated that ospA antigen with alum adjuvant can protect horses from B. burgdorferi infection.

Cats:

Cats have been experimentally infected with B. burgdorferi, and clinical signs developed if the infections occurred via tick bites (not with inoculation via syringe and needle). However, clinical signs and pathologic lesions do not consistently develop among naturally-exposed seropositive cats. In enzootic areas, the rate of seropositivity in cats is much lower than dogs. Does this reflect an inherent resistance to infection or just a cat's more fastidious self grooming to remove ticks?

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