Lyme and pregnancy

[gcv-border]

A pregnant female came into our rescue about 3 weeks ago. She was pregnant and Lyme and erlichia positive.

 

I have done some searching on the web wrt transmission of lyme during pregnancy. So far, I have discovered that: "Lyme disease acquired during pregnancy may lead to infection of the placenta and possibly a stillbirth; however, no negative effects on the fetus have been found when the mother receives appropriate antibiotic treatment."

 

My understanding is that the mother dog started treatment for Lyme and erlichia during approx. the last 2 weeks of gestation. (That is when she came into rescue.) Of 6 pups, 3 were born alive, one born with cleft palate and other issues and expired soon after birth, and 2 were stillborn.

 

Any opinions or knowledge of the effect of Lyme on the pups? - short-term and long-term. And should they be treated for Lyme and when should treatment start? If so, is the treatment the same as for adults (assuming dosage difference)?

 

Any other opinions, knowledge or anecdotes are welcome.

 

Jovi

[bcnewe2]

I only have personal information and who knows if it's really TBD's that caused all the issues. Mick's Mom was PTS by the time Mick was a bit over the age of 1. She was suffering horribly from joint issues and some back issues. Her owner didn't do a necropsy. But Mick had similar symptoms when he was diag. with his TBD's.

 

Mick was born with some issues and was eventually diag. with Lyme and rocky mountain fever at an early age.

 

He is aging quite hard. His brother is wheelchair bound. I remember his sister having seizure issues. The other littermate I don't know about. There was one more brother that I think is doing ok from what I've heard.

 

That's pretty rough odds for my thinking.

 

Poor Mick looks like he's about 15 when in truth he's only 9.

[juliepoudrier]

This has been discussed on Tick-L a lot. It may be worth your while to join and either search the archives or ask your question there. TBH, I haven't paid close attention to those discussions as I had no plans to breed; otherwise I'd just pass what I'd learned on to you....

 

The Tick links page has directions for joining and also has a bunch of useful links. Some of them may also have information on TBDs and pregnancy. I'd start with Gil. Ash's page as it has a ton of good information (I don't know if she covers pregnancy though).

 

J.

[gcv-border]

This has been discussed on Tick-L a lot. It may be worth your while to join and either search the archives or ask your question there. TBH, I haven't paid close attention to those discussions as I had no plans to breed; otherwise I'd just pass what I'd learned on to you....

 

The Tick links page has directions for joining and also has a bunch of useful links. Some of them may also have information on TBDs and pregnancy. I'd start with Gil. Ash's page as it has a ton of good information (I don't know if she covers pregnancy though).

 

J.

First, thanks bcnewe2 for your personal story. Do you remember how old Mick was when he was diagnosed with TBDs? And looking back, did he have issues at a younger age that you think may be attributable to the TBD which may have been passed in utero from mom (thinking that she may have been TBD-positive when pregnant)?

 

Julie, thanks for the link to the Tick-L. That was my next step when I had time to look it up and sign up. You have made it easy by supplying the link. And I will check out Gil. Ash's page.

 

I will also pass this info to the foster mom. I hope to go over to see the pups this week. (Ya gotta take advantage of nearby puppies when you can. )

 

Jovi

[bcnewe2]

I will never know if Mick got it in utero. I'm pretty sure he got it on a trip to KY. He had a small tick and lost hair around it (sorta the bullseye rash) somewhere around 6 months or so. But didn't get diag. till about 15 months. He was missed diagnosed by several vets letting it get to the chronic stage.

 

I brought Mick home at 5 weeks. His mom had quit nursing and he was going to be put outside in a pen with his siblings, it was Dec. So I took him then, along with most of the other new owners of that litter.

 

He slept the first few months of his life. That's about it slept, ate and pottied. He was potty trained before he even knew he was alive. Hindsight I think he might of had a liver shunt that closed off on it's own. Or something, maybe the TBD's but we'll never know. He was a beautiful dog after he out grew the sleeping stage. He stayed that way till about 15 months but he was very dog aggressive so I had him neutered. Brought him home and he seized. Down hill from that point on. Again mis diagnosed by 3 vets, I had him at a holistic vet doing anything and everything when we finally figured it out. Sometimes he couldn't walk sometimes he could. took 2 years of rehab and long term doxy to get back to what he ended up being. He stayed dog aggressive, I think it's cause he always didn't feel good so it was kinda like him telling everyone to not touch him. He is still dog aggressive but not as bad. He has good days and bad. He's having some rough times right now. I think it's the extreme temps. But he's happy hanging out doing what we do so he's ok.

But I know he's not feeling good as he grumped Faye last night, pretty bad then he put himself in time out before I could even do anything about it. Like he just felt yucky, cause he kinda likes Faye so doesn't really grump her to often.

 

I don't think he's chronic anymore just suffering from all the leftover issues, he's 9. Mainly skeletal.

 

I think they were on their way to the finals when his mom went down and never really came back around all the way. She might of been diagnosed on that trip and treated with doxy but I'm sure not long enough. Poor thing was PTS by 9 or 10.

 

Like I mentioned all his siblings or at least the ones I know have had issues all along. So who knows.

[juliepoudrier]

Kristen,

Are you sure he couldn't be chronic? Lyme spirochetes can encyst and remain inactive for long periods of time and then resurface. If he's grumping, I'd be tempted to put him on at least a short course of doxy and if it helps pretty quickly, then do the full 8 weeks.

 

J.

[Laurae]

Aww, poor Mick