Xenodiagnosis: Using Ticks to Test for Persistent Lyme Disease

Pathogen-free Ixodes ticks were allowed to feed on 26 volunteers with Lyme disease and then assessed for infection. Results were positive for only two participants.

Lyme disease, transmitted by Ixodes ticks and caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common tick-borne illness in the U.S. After a recommended course of antibiotic therapy, some patients experience persistent symptoms, or posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). The pathogenesis of PTLDS has been controversial, with some arguing a basis in persistent infection.

To examine this situation further, researchers (some of them employed by the company that developed the assays and instruments used in this study) allowed pathogen-free larval Ixodes scapularis ticks to feed on 36 volunteers: 10 symptomatic adults with high C6 antibody titers, 10 with PTLDS, 5 who had presented with erythema migrans (EM) and completed antibiotic therapy, 1 wi…

Reviewing Author

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Xenodiagnosis: Using Ticks to Test for Persistent Lyme Disease

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Reviewing Author