Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / December 2006

From what I understand, the C6 test is one of the more accurate
indicators of true Borrelia infection.  It's possible to have a false
negative if the blood is drawn too soon from the tick's attachment to
the dog. It's very unlikely to have a false positive, though. If your
pup tested that high on the C6 test, then he has Borrelia bacteria in
his body. The good news is that he is  not clinical for Lyme disease.
The current recommendation is to treat with doxycycline for 30 days,
retest the C6 test, and if it's still high, treat for another 30 days.
Some dogs will have C6 tests that drop below 30, meaning there is a
small number (or no) Borrelia remaining in the body.  Some never have
low readings and those are the ones to watch closely for intermittent
lameness and protein-losing kidney disease from the chronic immune
stimulation. The latest research seems to indicate that we're very
rarely clearing the bacterium from our patients no matter how long we
treat them.  It's usually hanging out somewhere, continuing to stimulate
the immune system, which can cause some problems in the long term in
some dogs.

I'm almost positive it takes longer than a week to get an elevated C6 test.

Why assume there is "no chance that he got this in Arizona"? There are
cases of human Lyme disease in Arizona. Most of those were contracted
elsewhere and diagnosed in AZ, but some of those patients had no history
of travel according to Arizona's Department of Health web site. I'd
guess Lyme disease, just like West Nile Virus has shown, will become
endemic in most states over the next decade or so.

Best of luck to your puppy dog.  Most dogs that test positive and are
treated are fine, so don't worry too much, but be aware and follow up as
directed.

Sandy, DVM