Laboratory Diagnosis of Tick-Borne Infections

Lyme Disease - Serologic Assays

July 2010

As with the screening tests, the sensitivity of Lyme Western blot is also dependent on the stage of the disease when testing is performed. During stage 1, Western blot may demonstrate a sensitivity of only 20 to 50%, with the majority of antibody detected being of the IgM-class. In stages 2 and 3 of the disease, the sensitivity of Western blot increases to 70-100%, and we typically observe a switch in prevalence of antibody to that of the IgG-class.

It is important to point out that although a positive IgM Western blot generally indicates recent infection, IgM-class antibodies may persist for months to years following infection in some cases, and because of this, a positive IgM does not always serve as an indicator of recent, acute infection.

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Lyme Disease - Serologic Assays

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Jump to section:

• Introduction
• Outline
• Patient Case 1
• Laboratory Workup
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
• Typical Positive Result by IFA
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
• Diagnostic Tests for HME and HGA
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
• Patient Case 2
• Giemsa-stained Preparation Slide
• Giemsa-stained Preparation Slide
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Babesia
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Babesia
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Babesia
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Babesia
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Babesia
• Patient Case 3
• Lyme Disease - Diagnostic Approach
• Conventional Methods for Diagnosis of Lyme Disease
• Patient Case 3 (continued)
• Diagnosis of Lyme Disease
• Lyme Disease - Serologic Assays
• Lyme Disease - Serologic Assays
• Lyme Disease - Serologic Assays
• Patient Case 3 (continued)
• Lyme Disease - Serologic Assays
• Patient Case 3 (continued)
• Lyme Disease - Factors to Consider
• Conclusions
• References
• Questions?