Lyme Disease Testing Techniques

Introduction

Lyme disease is one of the most common tick-borne diseases that affect different geographic parts. These parts included United States, Europe, and Asia. This disease is caused by strains of the bacteriums spirochaete calledBorrelia burgdorferi sensu lato( Livey, O’Rourke, Traweger, Savidis-Dacho, Crowe, Barrett, Yang, Dunn & A ; Luft, 2011 ).This bacteria like a spirochete being is a cylinder-like form that surrounded by an outer membrane. There are 13 strains of this bacterium within theBorrelia burgdorferihousehold, but there are merely three strains that cause the Lyme disease within worlds. The three strains areBorrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii, and Borrelia garinii( Livey, O’Rourke, Traweger, Savidis-Dacho, Crowe, Barrett, Yang, Dunn & A ; Luft, 2011 ).

We Will Write a Custom Essay Specifically
For You For Only $13.90/page!


order now

In the United States, there is merely one strain of this bacterium isBorrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto.From 2000 to 2010, there were 251,720 confirmed instances of Lyme disease reported by the state’s wellness sections to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) ( Embers & A ; Narasimhan, 2013 ) . The 12 provinces are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, Minnesota and Wisconsin, history for 95 per centum of all Lyme disease instances ( Embers & A ; Narasimhan, 2013 ) .

Lyme disease is one of many bacterial infections transferred by the blacklegged ticks in the United States. In the United States E of the Rockies is the blacklegged tick, besides called cervid tick,Ixodes scapularis,and west of the Rockies is the western blacklegged tick,Ixodes pacificus( Bureau of Epidemiology-Utah Department of Health ) . These ticks live for two old ages traveling thru three life phases, larvae phase, nymph phase and grownup phases.

The chief bearer ofBorrelia burgdorferiis the white-footed mouse in the Northeast and North Central States, and the dusky-footed wood rat West of the Rockies. The white-footed mouse histories for 40 to 90 per centum of all the tick infections in the United States.

This paper will discourse the diagnostic testing for Lyme disease, and the current research for the riddance of Lyme disease.

History

In 1883, German doctor Alfred Buchwald described Lyme disease as a deteriorating tegument upset. This was the first recorded instance of Lyme disease. In 1909, Swedish research physician Arvid Afzelius researched the tegument roseola. This skin roseola looked like tegument roseola that had a bull-eye form with an spread outing ring that Arvid Afzelius thought was a consequence of a tick bite. Dr. Arvid Afzelius presented his findings in a paper at the Swedish Society of Dermatology.

In, 1975, the first recorded instance of Lyme disease in the United States occurred in Lyme, Connecticut, when 51 kids was found to hold been bitten by the blacklegged tick, and all suffered from paediatric arthritis. There were several surveies on the blacklegged tick ; these surveies found that the blacklegged tick carried theBorrelia burgdorferi.In 1977, Dr. Allen Steere named this disease ‘Lyme Arthritis’ , the name was changed in 1979 to ‘Lyme disease’ .

Diagnostic Testing

To name Lyme disease, the doctor will either look for early symptoms of the disease, including a roseola in a bull’s oculus form with a ruddy outer pealing environing a clear country ( Wenger, 2004 ) . If there are no symptoms of the Lyme disease than a verification from the research lab to place the antibodies contending the causative agentBorrelia burgdorferi.The two antibodies that are released from the immune system whenBorrelia burgdorferiis detected are the immunoglobin M ( IgM ) and immunoglobin G ( IgG ) ( Clayton, 2012 ) . The IgM is the first antibody that will look within two to four hebdomads after the infection has occurred ( Clayton, 2012 ) . The IgG antibody will look four to six hebdomads after the infection has occurred ( Clayton, 2012 ) . These two antibodies will make their extremum six to eight hebdomads after the infection ( Clayton, 2012 ) .

The diagnostic trial that are used by the doctors to place the Lyme disease measures the IgM and IgG antibodies degrees of a person’s immune system response to the disease. The recommended antibody trials for Lyme disease are blood trial, which measures the antibodies from the immune system that were reacting to theBorrelia burgdorferi.

Primary antibody trials

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) recommend the doctors to utilize a two-step testing procedure to corroborate the present the IgM and IgG antibodies for the diagnosing of Lyme disease. Both of these trials must be positive for the diagnosing of Lyme disease to be made by a doctor.

Two-Step Testing Procedure

The first measure to placing Lyme disease in the two-step testing procedure is an antibody trial. The antibody trial used for this measure is either enzyme-linked immunosorbent assey ( ELISA ) or indirect fluorescent antibody trial ( IFA ) . The ELISA is the most normally used trial to mensurate the antibodies from the person’s immune system response to Borrelia burgdorferi spirochaete in the blood sample. This antibody trial is highly sensitive and may supply a false positive or false negative consequence forBorrelia burgdorferi.The IFA can be used as a utility trial for the antibody trial. The IFA antibody trial detects the IgM antibodies that are released from the immune system when theBorrelia burgdorferiantigens are detected in the blood.

The 2nd measure to place Lyme disease uses the Western Blot, if the first antibody trial is positive or has questionable consequences. The Western Blot is more accurate trial than the ELISA or IFA. This trial is used after the patient has been affected byBorrelia burgdorferiinfection between 6 to 12 hebdomads. This antibody trial detects both the IgM and IgG antibodies that are released from the immune system when theBorrelia burgdorferiantigens are detected in the blood.

Current Research

In 1998, a vaccinum was developed that would trip the human immune system to contend theBorrelia burgdorferi. While the vaccinum was in phase three of the human clinical tests, the company volunteered to draw this vaccinum due to several grounds, including inauspicious reaction to this vaccinum.

A figure of research undertakings were looking for an unwritten come-on vaccinum for the white-footed mouse to make antibodies againstBorrelia burgdorferi. These antibodies would reassign the blackfooted tick larvae during their initial eating on the blood of the white-footed mouse.

Oral Bait Vaccine

Dr. Maria Gomes-Solecki and her research squad from the University of Tennessee used the human vaccinum forBorrelia burgdorferiand developed this vaccinum into an unwritten vaccinum that was so assorted into oatmeal pellets for the white-footed mouse to make antibodies againstBorrelia burgdorferi. Then the blackfooted tick larvae would feed on the blood of the white-footed mouse, in which the blackfooted tick larvae would consume the antibodies would kill theBorrelia burgdorferi,which in bend prevented the transmittal of Lyme disease ( 37 ) .

Dr. Gomes-Solecki and her squad baited four football sized secret plans of grassland with the oatmeal-based OspA/RTV vaccinum pellets and three other football size secret plans with oatmeal pellets ( Botelho, 2014 ) . After five old ages, the four secret plans that were baited with the oatmeal-based OspA/RTV vaccinum pellets saw a decrease of ticks infect withBorrelia burgdorferiby 76 per centum ( Botelho, 2014 ) . The other secret plans that were baited with oatmeal pellets there was no diminution in the septic ticks.

Dr. Tom Monath from the US Biologic board direct and Dr. Rick Ostfield from Cary Institute did a five-year field test on the efficaciousness of the vaccinum for the white-footed mouse. The country selected for this field test was the Lyme disease endemic country of Dutchess County, New York, dwelling of seven secret plans, each of the secret plans were similar in size, flora, and dirt ( 37 ) . These secret plans are separate from other secret plans by 500 metres to guarantee there is adequate biological and statistical independency from the other secret plans ( ) . Four of the secret plans were baited with the oatmeal-based OspA/RTV vaccinum from mid-May thru mid-September during the late afternoon for five back-to-back yearss each hebdomad, and the other three secret plans were baited with oatmeal pellets. The ingestion of the oatmeal-based OspA/RTV vaccinum is recorded each twenty-four hours and each of the four secret plans had several unrecorded traps and the captured white-footed mice were tagged with numbered ear tickets ( )

Dr. Tom Monath said, “After merely one twelvemonth, the survey shows a bead of 23 % of ticks that carried the Lyme disease. After five old ages, the presence of Lyme disease dropped by 75 % ” ( 37g ) . This field survey shows that over several old ages of utilizing the baited OspA/RTV vaccine pellets for the white-footed mice to eat, the mice develop antibodies, and the subsequent does hike the unsusceptibility with antibodies to contend theBorrelia burgdorferi. This has dramatically reduced the rate of transportation of the Borreliaburgdorferito the tick larvae phase during the first eating of blood. In bend, this will significantly cut down the hazard of transferring ofBorrelia burgdorferifrom cervid ticks and blacklegged ticks bite to worlds.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *