Lyme Disease Testing

Currently, the recommended diagnostic tests for detecting Lyme disease are the Western Blot analysis, used to identify particular antibodies, and the ELISA, which is a more general antibody test. However, according to one of the major Lyme disease organizations, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), these two tests are often inaccurate. New, more reliable tests for Lyme are needed.

Both the Western Blot analysis and the ELISA test for antibodies, which complicates the detection of Lyme bacteria. This is due to the fact that during certain stages of the disease, no antibodies can be detected in an infected patient.

The Q-RiBb, a Lyme test devised and patented by the Bowen Research Laboratory in Florida, US, is reported to be highly specific for the bacteria that causes Lyme, the Borrelia burgdorferi. Q-RiBb has been developed to detect antigens, not antibodies, and therefore is believed by its developers to be more reliable and quicker than either the Western Blot or the ELISA in diagnosing Lyme.

Doctors who follow the standard treatment guidelines of ILADS tend to be educated about the tricky nature of testing for Lyme disease. Currently, ILADS specialists agree that when a patient presents with symptoms characteristic of Lyme or its co-infections, it is prudent to begin treatment, even as test results are pending.

 Detection Of Lyme Bacteria and Lyme Literacy

Failure to successfully detect Lyme disease bacteria can create more problems for the patient. Medical professionals who are not literate in recognizing or treating Lyme disease and its array of symptoms may unwittingly complicate the problem by prescribing medicine that can harm the patient.

For example, patients who don’t suspect they may have been exposed to Lyme infection may consult a dermatologist for treatment of a troubling skin rash that behaves like eczema. Dermatologists often prescribe steroids for controlling severe cases of eczema. Yet, steroids dangerously replicate Lyme bacteria. A person with an undetected Lyme infection who takes steroids will cause themselves harm.

Elderly patients presenting with late-stage Lyme disease symptoms, which can mimic many of the neurological signs typical of Alzheimer's disease, may receive a professional diagnosis of Alzheimer's. In this case, no antibiotics are subscribed and the patients' chances of healing from the Lyme infection dramatically decrease.

Read the latest news on Lyme disease testing on the LDRD blog.