J Med Microbiol Email Content Delivery
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zeidner, N. S.
Right arrow Articles by Levin, M. L.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zeidner, N. S.
Right arrow Articles by Levin, M. L.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Zeidner, N. S.
Right arrow Articles by Levin, M. L.
J Med Microbiol 57 (2008), 463-468; DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.47535-0
© 2008 Society for General Microbiology
ISSN 1473-5644

A sustained-release formulation of doxycycline hyclate (Atridox) prevents simultaneous infection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi transmitted by tick bite

Nordin S. Zeidner1, Robert F. Massung2, Marc C. Dolan1, Eric Dadey3, Elizabeth Gabitzsch1, Gabrielle Dietrich1 and Michael L. Levin2

1 Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO 80522, USA

2 Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA

3 QLT Laboratories, Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA

Correspondence
Nordin S. Zeidner
Naz2{at}cdc.gov

Received 25 July 2007
Accepted 21 December 2007

Current prophylaxis for infected tick bites consists of personal protective measures directed towards ticks. This study compared the efficacy of a single oral dose of doxycycline with that of a single injection of sustained-release doxycycline in a model of Lyme borreliosis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection. Dosages of doxycycline were equilibrated based on previously determined peak plasma levels in mice [oral, 2.4 µg (ml plasma)–1; sustained release, 1.9 µg (ml plasma)–1] determined 8 h after inoculation. In challenge experiments where five Borrelia burgdorferi-infected and five A. phagocytophilum-infected nymphs were used per mouse, only 20 and 30 % of mice were protected from B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum infection, respectively, using oral doxycycline. In contrast, 100 % of mice receiving sustained-release doxycycline were protected from A. phagocytophilum infection, as indicated by real-time PCR of blood samples, quantitative PCR and culture isolation of spleen samples, and protected against B. burgdorferi infection as demonstrated by culture of ear, heart and bladder. Although 15–40 copies of A. phagocytophilum could be amplified from the spleens of mice treated with sustained-release doxycycline, no viable A. phagocytophilum from these spleens could be cultured in HL-60 cells. In contrast, 7/10 mice receiving oral doxycycline were PCR- and culture-positive for A. phagocytophilum, with copy numbers ranging from 800 to 10 000 within the spleen, as determined by quantitative PCR. Other correlates with A. phagocytophilum infection included a significant difference in spleen mass (mean of 110 mg for sustained-release treatment versus a mean of 230 mg for oral treatment) and the number of splenic lymphoid nodules (mean of 8 for sustained-release treatment versus mean of 12.5 for oral doxycycline) as determined by histopathology. These studies indicate that a single injection of a sustained-release formulation antibiotic may offer a viable prophylactic treatment option for multiple infectious agents in patients presenting with tick bites.

Abbreviations: CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
INT J SYST EVOL MICROBIOL J MED MICROBIOL MICROBIOLOGY J GEN VIROL ALL SGM JOURNALS
Copyright © 2008 Society for General Microbiology.