Lyme Vaccine and Kidney Failure
July, 1997
My discussion of Lyme disease in the November 1996 issue of
SPO Magazine briefly mentioned vaccinating for this tick-borne
illness. In response to several readers' questions, I have
consulted with a number of researchers to obtain information on
any recent developments in this area.
All vaccinations are designed to stimulate the body's immune
system to arm itself with antibodies against a specific organism.
The vaccine usually contains the organism itself, virus or
bacteria, after having been killed or altered so that it no
longer causes disease. However, all vaccines produced for use in
humans or animals have the potential to cause some side effects.
Fortunately, these are usually mild ones such as fever, lethargy,
poor appetite, generalized muscle soreness or pain at the
injection site. The most serious adverse reaction possible with
all vaccines, anaphylaxis (a shock-like allergic reaction) is
very rare.
Currently, there are 2 different vaccines marketed for prevention
of Lyme disease in dogs. Both are bacterins (killed bacteria) and
they have similar rates of occurance of side effects. In
controlled laboratory studies, the incidence rates of the side
effects mentioned above (those possible with all vaccines), range
from 2-3 percent. The actual rate of side effects reported by
veterinarians using the vaccines nationwide is only about 1 in
10,000, similar to that reported for canine Distemper-Parvo
combination vaccines.
As mentioned in my previous article, kidney disease is sometimes
seen in dogs with Lyme disease. When it occurs, there is a fairly
unique change in the kidney, now referred to as Lyme nephritis,
that leads to severe protein loss in the urine along with kidney
failure. The accusation that the vaccine causes kidney failure
may have come from the results of a study published in the
journal "Veterinary Pathology". This article described
cases of Lyme nephritis in several dogs that had been vaccinated
for Lyme disease. However, blood tests indicated that these dogs
had previous exposure to Borrelia Burdorferi, the organism that
causes Lyme disease. As mentioned in my previous article,
vaccinating for Lyme disease after a dog has been exposed
decreases the effectiveness of the vaccine. As with any vaccine,
it is meant to be given before exposure to the disease.
I don't know of any recent study to indicate that the
effectiveness of the vaccine is significantly less than the 80-85
percent protection that was mentioned in my previous article.
According to Dr. Appel at the Baker Research Institute, it is
probably higher.
The other means of preventing Lyme disease is to decrease
exposure to ticks. This can be accomplished by avoiding areas
where the ticks live. When that's impossible, there are a number
of insecticidal products that can be used. There are many sprays
and dips available, but they need to be applied frequently.
Preventic is the brand name of an insecticidal collar that
appears to be effective at killing ticks. Frontline is the brand
name of a popular new topical insecticide that kills ticks for a
full month after applying to only 1 or 2 spots on the dog's back.
Another monthly topical product is called ProTICall. This repels
ticks as soon as they attack, unlike Frontline, and it is less
expensive to use than Frontline, but it is not as popular because
it is not as effective at killing fleas, a much more common
external parasite.
After my recent consultations with investigators most familiar
with canine Lyme disease research, I can repeat my
receommendation to consider Lyme vaccination in areas where the
organism is present.