Vaccination of Wild Mice Could Reduce Transmission of Lyme Disease

Vaccinating large populations of wild mice against the bacterium that causes Lyme disease could one day help reduce the risk of transmission of the infection to horses.

A recent study, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, demonstrated that the vaccination of wildlife hosts might be a promising, ecologically based strategy to help prevent the spread of

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Vaccinating large populations of wild mice against the bacterium that causes Lyme disease could one day help reduce the risk of transmission of the infection to horses.

A recent study, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, demonstrated that the vaccination of wildlife hosts might be a promising, ecologically based strategy to help prevent the spread of vector-borne diseases like Lyme disease and West Nile virus.

Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a spiral-shaped bacterium spread through the bite of a blacklegged (Ixodes) tick. It is estimated that approximately 50% of adult horses in areas of the northeastern United States have been infected, but fewer than 10% develop clinical signs of the disease. There is no commercially available equine Lyme disease vaccine.

For the study, researchers trapped more than 900 white-footed mice in 12 different forested sites in Connecticut. The mice were immunized with a Lyme vaccine that is currently used in dogs

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Written by:

Rallie McAllister, MD, grew up on a horse farm in Tennessee, and has raised and trained horses all of her life. She now lives in Lexington, Ky., on a horse farm with her husband and three sons. In addition to her practice of emergency and corporate medicine, she is a syndicated columnist (Your Health by Dr. Rallie McAllister), and the author of four health-realted books, including Riding For Life, published by Eclipse Press and available at www.ExclusivelyEquine.com or by calling 800/582-5604.””allie McAllister

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