A monkey study by Embers et al. published in 2012 provides compelling animal evidence for persistent infection as a mechanism for chronic Lyme disease.
The study was conceived as an animal counterpart to the human trial by Klempner et al. that was published in 2001, and the monkeys were treated with a regimen of intravenous ceftriaxone (Rocephin) followed by oral doxycycline that was identical to the protocol used in the Klempner human trial.
Embers’ study showed that three-quarters of the monkeys failed treatment. These animals showed evidence of persistent infection in various tissues at necropsy (death) using culture, immunofluorescence, and PCR techniques.
References
Stricker, R.B., Fesler, M.C. and Johnson, L. (2026). Persistent Borrelia Infection in Chronic Lyme Disease: A Review of the Medical Literature. Advances in Infectious Diseases, 16, 73-87. doi:10.4236/aid.2026.161005.
Embers, M.E., Barthold, S.W., Borda, J.T., Bowers, L., Doyle, L., Hodzic, E., et al. (2012). Persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi in Rhesus Macaques Following Antibiotic Treatment of Disseminated Infection. PLOS ONE, 7, e29914.