Lyme disease vaccine (recombinant ospa)

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Jan 14, 2022.

Uses for lyme disease vaccine (recombinant ospa)

Lyme disease vaccine is an active immunizing agent used to prevent infection by Lyme disease bacteria. It works by causing your body to produce its own protection (antibodies) against the bacteria.

Lyme disease causes rash, fever, weakness, and joint and muscle pain. The disease is caused by bacteria passed to humans by the bite of infected ticks.

The risk of getting tick-borne infections can be lessened by such precautions as wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, tucking pants into socks, treating clothing with tick repellent, and checking for and removing attached ticks.

Lyme disease vaccine (recombinant ospa) is no longer commercially available.

Before using lyme disease vaccine (recombinant ospa)

In deciding to use a vaccine, the risks of taking the vaccine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this vaccine, the following should be considered:

Allergies

Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to lyme disease vaccine (recombinant ospa) or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.

Pediatric

Lyme disease vaccine has not been tested in persons younger than 15 years of age. Use is not recommended in infants and children.

Geriatric

Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly as they do in younger adults. Although there is no specific information comparing use of Lyme disease vaccine in the elderly with use in other age groups, this vaccine is not expected to cause different side effects or problems in older people than it does in younger adults.

Breastfeeding

Studies in women suggest that this medication poses minimal risk to the infant when used during breastfeeding.

Interactions with medicines

Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your healthcare professional if you are taking any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.

Interactions with food/tobacco/alcohol

Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco.

Other medical problems

The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of Lyme disease vaccine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems.

Proper use of lyme disease vaccine (recombinant ospa)

Dosing

The dose of lyme disease vaccine (recombinant ospa) will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of lyme d...