What Is Lyme Disease How Does My Dog Get Infected
Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by bacteria called Borrelia. The bacteria are most commonly carried by the deer tick . Infection occurs when a dog is bitten by an infected tick. It appears that the disease is not transmitted until the tick has fed for approximately 12 hours. The tick itself becomes infected by feeding on infected mice, birds, deer, and other animals.
Investigation Of Suspected Neurological Lyme Disease
The diagnosis of neurological Lyme disease can only be confirmed by examination of the CSF and a paired serum. A definite diagnosis is based on the presence of a pleocytosis in the CSF, demonstration of intrathecal synthesis of specific antibodies to Borrelia species in CSF by comparison to serum and the presence of neurological symptoms. It is not possible to confirm intrathecal synthesis and hence definite neurological Lyme disease without a paired serum .
In 2018 RIPL is introducing a service for the detection of intrathecal synthesis of Borrelia-specific antibodies which is summarised in this flow diagram.
Clinicians may ask for guidance on laboratory testing of CSF from RIPL if required.
How Is Lyme Disease Diagnosed
An EM rash is a sure sign of Lyme disease, so your doctor can diagnose and treat you without the need for laboratory tests.
An EM rash, often shaped like a bullseye , is a sure sign of Lyme disease. If you develop an EM rash, you should be diagnosed & treated for Lyme disease without the need for further lab tests. EM rashes are not as obvious on darker skin .
For all other cases, your doctor should consider whether your symptoms and risk factors point to a Lyme disease diagnosis. For example:
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Were you bitten by a tick?
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Did you spend time outdoors in an area where Lyme disease is common?
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Recent travel: Lyme disease may be common where you were, even if it is unusual where you live.
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Your current symptoms and how long have they been present.
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Your full medical history, including previous unexplained symptoms that may help lead to an accurate diagnosis whether that ends up being Lyme or another condition.
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How Is It Diagnosed
If youâve been outside in an area where ticks are known to live, you should tell your doctor. Theyâll also want to know about the symptoms youâre having. These details are crucial to making a diagnosis of Lyme disease.
Early symptoms that usually occur within the first month after a tick bite can include:
- Rash at the site of the tick bite that may look like a âbullâs-eyeâ
- Problems with your short-term memory
Symptoms that come and go are common with Lyme disease. They will also depend on the stage of the disease.
How Is Lyme Disease Treated
Common antibiotics are effective at clearing the infection and early symptoms and in helping to prevent the development of complications. If untreated, the disease will progress to a longer-term form in about half of patients. Antibiotics are generally given for up to three weeks. If complications develop, intravenous antibiotics may need to be used to treat the infection. The bacteria can survive for long periods in the body even if no symptoms develop. If untreated, the bacteria can cause chronic irritation in in a number of the bodys organs. That is why early diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics is important.
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What Should You Do Before You Get Tested
There are actions you can take to help your doctor in theirevaluation. If you have access to the tick, take it with you to yourappointment.
If the tick is still embedded, carefully remove the tick withtweezers and store it in a zip-lock bag until it is time to show it to yourdoctor. If you dont have access to the tick, take a picture of the infectedarea or rash if they appear.
If you dont have these symptoms, make sure you document in a daily journal enough information to help your doctor make a diagnosis. Note days and times you may have been exposed to ticks. Track your symptoms and provide descriptions of the body parts are being affected, time length of your symptoms, and anything else you feel is important for your doctor to know.
Laboratory Tests That Are Not Recommended
Some laboratories offer Lyme disease testing using assays whose accuracy and clinical usefulness have not been adequately established. Examples of unvalidated tests include:
- Capture assays for antigens in urine
- Culture, immunofluorescence staining, or cell sorting of cell wall-deficient or cystic forms of B. burgdorferi
- Lymphocyte transformation tests
- In-house criteria for interpretation of immunoblots
- Measurements of antibodies in joint fluid
- IgM or IgG tests without a previous ELISA/EIA/IFA
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What Is An At
An at-home Lyme disease test will typically be a blood finger prick test.
If you have been exposed to the bacteria Borrelia that leads to the infection of Lyme disease, your body will have created two antibodies to fight it off. The test will look for the presence of both types of antibodies, known as immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G .
You will receive your test kit along with account information so that you can get your test results as soon as theyre ready. Follow the manufacturers instructions exactly as they are described.
Each test has different instructions, so its important to read the kits detailed information before getting started.
2- to 4-week round of antibiotics.
If Lyme disease goes untreated, it can be more difficult to eliminate. For some, it can lead to inflammation of the joints, heart, and nervous system. The progression of the disease, and its severity, can vary from person to person.
Lyme disease is staged in categories: acute, early disseminated, and late disseminated. Later stages of Lyme disease may involve multiple systems in the body.
The most common sign of Lyme disease is an erythema migrans, or bulls-eye rash. The rash often appears after a delay of 3 to 30 days after the tick bite, according to the
- swollen lymph nodes
If youre experiencing any of these signs or symptoms, an at-home test may help you identify Lyme disease. With the click of a button, a test can be shipped to your front door.
Where Is Lyme Disease Found
In the United States, Lyme disease has been reported in every state, but over 95% of cases are from the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and upper Midwestern states, with a small number of cases reported along the West Coast, especially Northern California. In Canada, Lyme-positive dogs are found mostly in southern Ontario and southern Manitoba, with a small number of cases in southern Quebec and the Maritime provinces.
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Lyme Disease Test Western Blot
Labs performing a Western blot use electricity to separate proteins called antigens into bands. The read-out from the Western blot looks like a bar code. The lab compares the pattern produced by running the test with your blood to a template pattern representing known cases of Lyme disease. If your blot has bands in the right places, and the right number of bands, it is positive.
The CDC requires 5 out of 10 bands for a positive test result. However, because some bands on the Western blot are more significant than others your doctor may decide you have Lyme disease even if your Western blot does not have the number of bands or specific bands recommended by the CDC. Different laboratories use different methods and criteria for interpreting the test, so you can have a positive test result from one lab and a negative test result from another.
For a comprehensive explanation of the western blot test, download Understanding Western Blot Lyme disease test.
The chart below will help you understand how to interpret the western blot test.
Figuring Out Your Exposure
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Access To Lyme Disease Testing Services
This guidance on the laboratory diagnosis of Lyme disease is intended for healthcare professionals in the UK. Patients concerned about possible Lyme infection should consult an appropriate healthcare professional, for example their GP, in the first instance.
Health professionals wishing to discuss a possible case or ascertain local arrangements for testing should contact a local Infection specialist .
NHS testing for Lyme disease is available through local service providers and the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory at UK Health Security Agency Porton where ISO15189 accredited confirmatory testing is also provided. RIPL also provides a testing service for neurological Lyme disease.
RIPL provides medical and laboratory specialist services to the NHS and other healthcare providers, covering advice and diagnosis of a wide range of unusual bacterial and viral infections, including Lyme disease.
RIPL continuously updates its methods and will make further information on Lyme disease diagnostic testing available as it arises.
Submitting Ticks To A Provincial Public Health Laboratory
If possible, send any ticks that you have removed to a public health laboratory in your area. However, tick identification and testing is not done in all provinces of Canada.The following provinces accept submissions:
Contact your local public health authority for details on:
- the tick identification and testing program available in your area
- how to submit a tick for testing
The public health laboratory will:
- identify the tick
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Lyme Disease Testing & Results
To get the Lyme disease test near you, simply order online and get tested at the selected Quest Diagnostics lab location. Once the Lyme disease test results are available, they will be available for download. Many people wonder whether fasting is required and how long results take for the Lyme test. Fasting is not required when getting a Lyme disease blood test and results are typically available in 4 business days or less. As can be seen on the sample Lyme disease screening test report above, the Lyme antibody screen will report the antibody levels which can be compared against a reference range provided by the lab. If Lyme disease antibodies are detected, the Lyme western blot test will be performed and reported to provide more detail. This Lyme disease test is a component of the more comprehensive infection panel test that screens for a variety of infections.
In most cases, Lyme disease can be treated effectively with common antibiotics such as doxycycline, cefuroxime and amoxicillin. The risk of being exposed to Lyme disease in the first place can be reduced by avoiding regions with infected ticks. When in an at-risk location, it is recommended to wear a hat, long sleeve shirts and long pants and to use insect repellants like DEET. A recombinant Lyme vaccine used to exist but is no longer available.
- A doctors lab order*
- A PDF copy of your test results
- Responsive customer service
How Will My Doctor Test Me For Lyme Disease
The CDC recommends two-step testing, sometimes referred to as a two-tiered test, for Lyme disease. You will need to go to a lab to have blood drawn. It takes a few days to get results.
If the first test comes back positive or unclear, the lab will do the second blood test. If the first test comes back negative, the CDC does not recommend the second test. However, according to the CDC the second test must be positive for you to be diagnosed with Lyme disease.
The first test: ELISA
This blood test is for antibodies against the Lyme disease bacteria. Because it can take some time for your body to produce antibodies, this test isnt always accurate soon after a person is infected.
The second test: Western Blot or a second ELISA
There are two options for the second test. One is called a Western blot, which looks at how your antibodies react to specific parts of the Lyme disease bacteria. The Western blot test has been part of the two-step testing system since 1994 and is more commonly used.
The other option is to do a second ELISA test, which measures antibodies to a specific protein found on Lyme disease bacteria. Because these tests are newer, not all doctors have experience with them and not all labs have access to them.
These tests can be run on the blood sample used for the first test. You should not need to go back to the lab.
A possible drawback of the two-step testing system
Which second test is best: ELISA or Western blot?
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Lyme Disease Frequently Asked Questions
If you have not done so already, remove the tick with fine-tipped tweezers.
The chances that you might get Lyme disease from a single tick bite depend on the type of tick, where you acquired it, and how long it was attached to you. Many types of ticks bite people in the U.S., but only blacklegged ticks transmit the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Furthermore, only blacklegged ticks in the highly endemic areas of the northeastern and north central U.S. are commonly infected. Finally, blacklegged ticks need to be attached for at least 24 hours before they can transmit Lyme disease. This is why its so important to remove them promptly and to check your body daily for ticks if you live in an endemic area.
If you develop illness within a few weeks of a tick bite, see your health care provider right away. Common symptoms of Lyme disease include a rash, fever, body aches, facial paralysis, and arthritis. Ticks can also transmit other diseases, so its important to be alert for any illness that follows a tick bite.
References:
Moody KD, Barthold SW, 1991. Relative infectivity of Borrelia burgdorferi in Lewis rats by various routes of inoculation.Am J Trop Med Hyg 44: 135-9.
There are no reports of Lyme disease being spread to infants through breast milk. If you are diagnosed with Lyme disease and are also breastfeeding, make sure that your doctor knows this so that he or she can prescribe an antibiotic thats safe for use when breastfeeding.
Lyme Disease Pcr Testing
A polymerase chain reaction test, also known as a PCR test, checks blood for evidence of a pathogens DNA. In some cases, a PCR test will be performed using a sample of synovial fluid, which is found in the joints. This test has become very common in the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of people have had to undergo PCR testing for coronavirus.
A Lyme disease PCR test is designed to look for the borrelia bacterias DNA to identify whether or not it has made its way into the body through a bite from an infected tick. When DNA material is found, it can be determined that a Lyme infection is present.
Image by on The PCR test looks for DNA that confirms a case of Lyme disease is present.
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Lyme Disease Is On The Rise An Expert Explains Why
May marks the beginning of the summer season when black-legged ticks that spread Lyme disease are more prevalent even in California.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that cases of tickborne diseases had more than doubled from 2004 to 2016, from 22,000 to 48,000, and that Lyme disease accounted for 82 percent of tickborne diseases.
Moreover, due to underreporting, the actual number of Lyme disease cases is estimated to be significantly higher likely more than 350,000 in 2016.
We talked to infectious disease expert Charles Chiu, MD, PhD, about the rise in Lyme disease cases, better diagnostic tests on the horizon and what you need to know to protect yourself from infection. Chiu is an associate professor of laboratory medicine and medicine and director of the UCSF-Abbott Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center.How common is Lyme disease in California? And why have rates been increasing?
In terms of reported cases, there are about 80 to 100 a year in the state. Residents in or travelers to the northwestern coastal counties Trinity, Humboldt, and Mendocino are at highest risk. But because of underreporting, the actual number of Lyme disease cases likely exceeds 1,000 cases a year, simply because most cases of Lyme disease are not reported.
How is Lyme disease transmitted, and is it contagious between humans?
Compared to other infections, is Lyme disease more difficult to detect and diagnose?
Borrelia burgdorferi,
