Lyme's disease in cows

Lyme's disease in cows

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
During a conversation with public lands consultant and freelance writer Andy Rieber who suffers from Lyme's disease, an illness that is transmitted to humans via ticks, I asked her, since she is a real cowgirl at heart, If cattle can contract Lyme's disease. “That is something I don’t know. I know deer are a reservoir for it as our mice and squirrels and birds and all kinds of rodents. I know horses and dogs can get Lyme’s disease so I would not be surprised if cows did too.”

 

Ever the vigilant reporter, I called Dr. Bill Barton, chief veterinarian for the State of Idaho: “Can a cow get limes disease? It appears that cattle can become affected by it because when they do blood tests on it, they have demonstrated antibodies to the infectious organism. So if they have the antibodies to it, it means they were infected and they mounted an immune response. What we don't know currently and there is more in more research coming out on Lyme's disease in livestock, but in humans there is a set pattern of symptoms. In cattle there is no set pattern of symptoms and the symptoms can look like lots of other maladies that can affect cattle. They can run a fever, they can get stiff, they can have weight loss, swollen joints, but yes, it is possible, horses, too.

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