low grade laminitis Lyme and/or Ehrlichia

[Phil Armitage]

Has anyone heard of this? Cases of Lyme and/or Ehrlichia (another tick borne disease) that manifest as low grade laminitis and mimic insulin resistance but post low insulin and low glucose numbers.

[Roy Amaral CJF]

Yes lyme can cause laminitis, but I don't know if it has any effect on insulin and glucose numbers. :confused:

They usualy improve quickly once they're on the antibiotics.

[Phil Armitage]

This is what a Vet suspects on one of the horses I am shoeing. Waiting for test.

[Roy Amaral CJF]

Could be both.

Maby the horse allready had metabolic issues and the lyme is what pushed him over the edge into a bout of lamitis.

Seems like vacinations can do it for some of these horses, so why not a real viral infection rather than a simulated one from the vacine?

[JMPalmer]

Phil wrote:
Has anyone heard of this? Cases of Lyme and/or Ehrlichia (another tick borne disease) that manifest as low grade laminitis and mimic insulin resistance but post low insulin and low glucose numbers.

Roy replied:
Could be both.
Maby the horse allready had metabolic issues and the lyme is what pushed him over the edge into a bout of lamitis.
Seems like vacinations can do it for some of these horses, so why not a real viral infection rather than a simulated one from the vacine?


Not a vet ot farrier but I do know something about these conditions. Neither Lyme Disease nor Ehrlichia are viruses. Both are cause by bacteria and both are treated with drugs in the tetracycline family. Doxycycline is often the drug of choice in the field for both conditions (IV oxytetracycline is sometimes used to “jump start“ treatment for Lyme). Owners need to be warned however, tetracycline and related drugs can and often do cause colitis in horses at the dose needed to treat these diseases.

Hopefully, the vet knew how to handle the samples for insulin and glucose. Both tests require the serum be separated from the whole blood in a centrifuge very quickly (preferably within the hour after the draw). Insulin also needs to be kept chilled. If not, both insulin and glucose can deteriorate resulting in falsely low values. In addition, red blood cells continue to consume glucose until they are separated from the serum so if the blood sat around in the vets truck all day, particularly if it was a warm day, those test results may be of questionable value.

I've heard of vets blaming Lyme for laminitis and I suppose laminitis can happen after any acute infection. However, if the vet made the Dx based only on a high Lyme (Elisa) titer, I would consider it questionable. Many, many horses in the Northeast test positive for Lyme (95% in my vet's estimation). All a positive or even high titer means is they have been exposed to Lyme at some time in their lives. It does NOT mean they have an active Lyme infection! Several horses I know who have been treated for supposed Lyme induced laminitis continue to have chronic foot issues after treatment.

Ehrlichia risticii, aka, Potomac Horse Fever, however, can and often does cause severe laminitis. (I don‘t believe the vector for risticii has been identified yet). The horse would be very, very ill with this disease though. There is also a much less serious disease, Ehrlichia equi, that IS caused by ticks. Ehrlichia equi is quite common in the Northeast too. Never heard of it causing laminitis but anything’s possible.

Jan

[Phil Armitage]

Hi Jan, this is great info, thank you very much for sharing this information. I would like to pass this on to the horse owner if you don't mind. Will at least give her and her Vet more to consider. Has been a frustrating problem with her horse and has caused problems determining what is going on and coming up with the cause and prevention. I appreciate you taking the time sharing your knowledge and experience. Got to love this site.