Vaccination with the ospA- and ospB-Negative Borrelia burgdorferi Strain 50772 Provides Significant Protection against Canine Lyme Disease.

ABSTRACT Beagles received placebo or ospA - and ospB -negative Borrelia burgdorferi before a tick challenge. A total of 28 (41%) ticks and skin biopsy specimens from each control dog ( n = 10) contained B. burgdorferi. In contrast, 12 (19%) ticks recovered from the vaccine recipients ( n = 10) were infected ( P = 0.0077), and 5 dogs yielded spirochetes from the skin biopsy specimens ( P = 0.0325). In addition, 9 (90%) placebo recipients and 4 (40%) vaccine recipients developed joint abnormalities ( P = 0.0573). Therefore, vaccination with the ospA - and ospB -negative spirochete provided significant protection against Lyme disease.