Lyme disease (Borreliosis) is a multi-systemic infectious disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria belonging to the Spirochaete family. The infection is transmitted to humans by the bite of ticks of the Ixodes genus and it can be divided in three clinical phases: early localized infection, early disseminated infection, late disseminated infection. During the first phase about two-thirds of patients develop a skin erythema together with flu-like symptoms.
During the second phase, which occurs after weeks or months, the infection spreads through the bloodstream and the lymphatic system causing muscle-skeletal and neurological disorders. The late phase occurs after months or years and can provoke acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA), chronic neuroborreliosis, polyarthritis.
The diagnosis of Borreliosis is based on the patient history, clinical picture and results of laboratory tests.
The antibody production can be extremely slow during the early phase of the disease; on the other hand the antibodies may remain for more than ten years.
High IgG titers with a low or absent IgM concentration appear during the phase of recovery or during the chronic stage
Method:
Immunoenzymatic method for the semiquantitative determination of complement-fixing antibodies in human serum, using a disposable device applied on the Chorus and Chorus TRIO instruments. The method uses antigens which are incubated for a given period with the test serum, in the presence of guinea pig complement. If specific antibodies are present, they will react with the antigen to form an immunocomplex which binds the complement, blocking its function. In the absence of specific antibodies the immunocomplex will not form and the free complement will cause lysis of the haemolytic mixture composed of sheep red blood cells and monoclonal hemolysin. The disposable devices contain all the reagents to perform the test when applied on the Chorus instruments.
