Does a negative blood test mean that the patient does not have Borreliosis / Lyme disease?
A.9 – No. Current blood testing techniques follow a two-tier protocol set out by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US. The first step is an ELISA which is followed, if positive or equivocal, by a confirmatory western blot. However, the CDC states explicitly that “This surveillance case definition was developed for national reporting of Lyme disease; it is not intended to be used in clinical diagnosis”. A number of studies have revealed that as many as 50% of Borreliosis cases, confirmed by Borrelial DNA or Borrelial culture, were reported as negative when tested using the CDC’s recommendations. In an interlaboratory comparison study of tests for the detection of B. Burgdorferi, by the College of American Pathologists, it was concluded that “these tests will not be useful as a screening test until their sensitivities are improved”. Borrelia bacteria have the ability to suppress the body’s immune response. Seronegative infection (an infection where antibodies ca
