A Lyme disease blood test detects antibodies to the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose because it’s symptoms are the same as those present in other illnesses. Antibody tests can sometimes be sued to help confirm the diagnosis of Lyme disease. There is no special preparation for this test.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that the diagnosis of Lyme disease is based on symptoms, physical findings and the patient’s history. There are several laboratory tests that aim to detect this infection, however, none of them are absolutely reliable. If positive they support the diagnosis. See similar questions...

Persons who are unsure of their history of Varicella should get the Varicella titer. The 1 dose vaccine is recommended in this age group. See similar questions...

A Valley Fever test, Cocci test, or Cocci titer checks the blood to see if your dog is making antibodies against the Valley Fever fungus. If the test is positive, it means your dog has been exposed to the fungus. If the Valley Fever test is positive, the laboratory then performs a titer. The titer measures how much antibody your dog is making against the fungus. A titer is obtained by doubling dilutions of the positive blood (1:4, 1:8, 1:16, 1:32 . . .) until the test becomes negative. See similar questions...

Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease is classified by the World Health Organisation as an infectious or parasitic disease. Borrelia burgdorferi belongs to the bacterial genus ‘Borrelia’. These in turn are members of a larger family of bacteria called Spirochaetes. See similar questions...

No test exists that can prove or exclude Lyme-borreliosis with 100% certainty. The tell-tale symptoms are not exclusive to Lyme-borreliosis, but may be provoked by many other diseases. You may suggest to your doctor to investigate Lyme-borreliosis by showing him the tick bite. The SAAG foundation offers supplementary information. The Association of Lyme-disease patients might also be able to help you. See similar questions...

We test the black legged tick, the only one in the County that is a possible vector of Lyme Disease. For more information on ticks click here. See similar questions...

Mainstream MD's rely fully on a blood test that is NOT diagnostic and is very unreliable. (Please see Resources for links with indepth explanations). The blood test given at commercial labs was devised by the CDC. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance criteria for Lyme disease were devised to track a narrow band of cases for epidemiologic purposes. See similar questions...

A corkscrew-shaped microbe, Borrelia burgdorferi, causes Lyme disease. Deer ticks-small ticks that usually feed on deer, mice, and birds-carry the bacterium and spread it to humans they bite. In the U.S., most cases of Lyme disease are restricted to the northeast, the mid-Atlantic, the upper north-central states, and northwestern California. Ticks tend to live near the ground in moist, shaded areas, particularly in tall grasses, leaf litter, overgrown brush, and woody environments. See similar questions...

Many oral antibiotics are available to treat Lyme disease. Specific regimens are prescribed depending on the symptoms, and 75 to 80 percent of persons treated will recover from the disease. Unfortunately, before treatment some patients will develop a severe case of the disease, with tissue damage and disability. To avoid being bitten by the deer tick you should use outdoor insecticides and keep deer away from areas where children play (use an eight-foot-high or electrified fence). See similar questions...

The Lyme disease vaccine is inactivated, being a protein piece of the microbe's cell wall. The vaccine was licensed in the U.S. in 1998 for persons age 15 to 70 years of age. Testing in children younger than 15 is not yet complete, so to prevent tick bites, parents should make sure their children follow the precautions listed above. Three doses of Lyme disease vaccine are needed. The first two doses are given one month apart; the third dose follows the first by 12 months. See similar questions...

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A clinical case of Lyme disease occurs when a person is infected by a tick bite. Symptoms follow after an incubation period that may last between two and thirty days. However, on some occasions, the bacteria do not cause disease straight away. The bacteria can enter a phase in which they do not cause symptoms but are still present. They may still have the potential to cause active disease at a later stage. See similar questions...

Lyme disease can affect any part of the body and cause many different symptoms. The commonest symptoms relate to the person feeling unwell, having flu-like symptoms, extreme tiredness, muscle pain, muscle weakness, joint pain, upset digestive system, headache, disturbances of the central nervous system and a poor sleep pattern. In some cases a characteristically shaped, expanding ‘bull’s eye’ rash appears on the skin. However, a rash in any form is not a universal symptom. See similar questions...

There are in the region of 500 confirmed cases each year in the UK. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) acknowledges that confirmed cases do not necessarily reflect all the cases of the disease. HPA official estimates suggest there could be up to 2,000 new cases occurring in the UK every year. Since full recovery may not take place in many cases, the total number of people affected is accumulating. See similar questions...

In the United Kingdom, Lyme disease is carried by the sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus. This tick can also feed on deer and other wild mammals and birds. The tick prefers to live in woods, heath and moorland, although it does not occur exclusively in these habitats. People who live in the parts of the country where the tick is prevalent are likely to be at greater risk. See similar questions...

Studies of the DNA taken from ticks in the Natural History Museum show the infection was in the UK in Victorian times. Therefore, it is almost certainly not a new illness. However, it does appear to be becoming more common. See similar questions...