Lyme Testing

Check out my post Why All The False Negative Test Results In Lyme Disease Testing? for much on why current Lyme disease tests are so flawed and why so many people who have Lyme disease are being misdiagnosed, especially when their doctor relies solely upon current Lyme disease blood tests for a diagnosis (note: Lyme disease was always meant to be a clinical diagnosis, not one based upon blood tests). The lab most used by Lyme Literate doctors is IGeneX – on a double-blind government proficiency tests, IGenex did well. They have the most sensitive and specific blood tests for Lyme disease. My Lyme doc only had me take their Western Blot IgG AND Western blot IgA, which was $200 (your insurance company may reimburse you in part or whole).

Here are some pithy reasons why one may get a false negative on the 2-step blood test used in most hospitals and commercial labs throughout the country:

“Reasons Why A Seronegative Test Result Might Occur

Tom Grier, Lyme Alliance

1. Recent infection before immune response

2. Antibodies are in immune complexes

3. Spirochete encapsulated by host tissue (i.e. lymphocytic cell walls)

4. Spirochete are deep in host tissue

5. Blebs in body fluid, no whole organisms needed for PCR

6. No spirochetes in body fluid on day of test

7. Genetic heterogeneity (300 strains in U.S.)

8. Antigenic variability

9. Surface antigens change with temperature

10. Utilization of host protease instead of microbial protease

11. Spirochete in dormancy phase

12. Recent antibiotic treatment

13. Recent anti-inflammatory treatment

14. Concomitant infection with babesia may cause immunosuppression

15. Other causes of immunosuppression

16. Lab with poor technical capability for Lyme disease

17. Lab tests not standardized for late stage disease

18. Lab tests labeled “for investigational use only”

19. CDC criteria is epidemiological, not a diagnostic criteria”

(Anapsid.org)

A great article on the flaws in diagnosing current Lyme disease was written by Pamela Weintraub, author of Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic. Click here to read the article

Lastly, here are 9 more reasons (a bit more in-depth) as to why the standard Lyme disease blood tests produce so many false negatives:

“Nine Reasons for False Negative Lyme Disease Blood Test Results
From the Lyme Disease Foundation brochure, Frequently Asked Questions About Lyme Disease

1. Antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) are present, but the laboratory is unable to detect them.

2. Antibodies against Bb may not be present in detectable levels in a patient with Lyme disease because the patient is currently on, or has recently taken, antibiotics. The antibacterial effect of antibiotics can reduce the body’s production of antibodies.

3. Antibodies against Bb may not be present in detectable levels in a patient with Lyme disease because the patient is currently on or has previously taken anti-inflammatory steroidal drugs These can suppress a person’s immune system, thus reducing or preventing an antibody response.

4. Antibodies against Bb may not be present in detectable levels in a patient with Lyme disease because the patient’s antibodies may be bound with the bacteria with not enough free antibodies available for testing.

For this reason, some of the worst cases of Lyme disease test negative — too much bacteria for the immune system to handle.

5. Antibodies against Bb may not be present in detectable levels in a patient with Lyme disease because the patient could be immunosuppressed for a number of other reasons, and the immune system is not reacting to the bacteria.

6. Antibodies against Bb may not be present in detectable levels in a patient with Lyme disease because the bacteria has changed its makeup (antigenic shift) limiting recognition by the patient’s immune system.

7. Antibodies against Bb may not be present in detectable levels in a patient with Lyme disease because the patient’s immune response has not been stimulated to produce antibodies, i.e., the blood test is taken too soon after the tick-bite (8-6 weeks).

Please do not interpret this statement as implying that you should wait for a positive test to begin treatment.

8. Antibodies against Bb may not be present in detectable levels in a patient with Lyme disease because the laboratory has raised its cutoff too high.

9. Antibodies against Bb may not be present in detectable levels in a patient with Lyme disease because the patient is reacting to the Lyme bacteria, but is not producing the “right” bands to be considered positive.” (Anapsid.org)

If you need financial help with Lyme disease blood testing, read my article on how to get financial assistance through the Lyme-TAP program:

Funds For Those In Need To Get Lyme Diagnostic Testing Now Available Through Lyme Test Access Program (Lyme-TAP)!