Do I or Don't I Have Babesia Microti Infection

[Scotty81]

Through an IGeneX test, my daughter tested positive for B. microti IgM with a value of 40 (with negative being anything less than 20). Per the IGeneX report, this indicates active infection. Her B. microti IgG was < 40 (with negative being anything less than 40). So, one of her docs concluded that she should be seen by a LLMD to discuss potential treatments. That seemed reasonable.

Another doc she concurrently sees suggested that we retest via a regular (not specialty) lab before embarking upon any Lyme/coinfection treatment. We used a local lab in our area, similar to Quest. From the lab results, it looks like ARUP Labs ran the actual test. Interestingly, her B. microti results were as follows:
B. microti IgM: < 1:20, with negative being anything less than 1:20
B. microti IgG: < 1:16, with negative being anything less than 1:16

I honestly don't know if the testing method used by IGeneX is the same as ARUP, but now we have two conflicting sets of results, which just compounds the issue. I know that diagnosis of Lyme and coinfections is not to be made by lab tests alone, but by clinical exam as well. The issue is that her clinical symptoms DO correspond to those described by a Lyme coinfection, but they can also be described by someone with Sjogren's, mast cell activation disorder, mitochondrial dysfunction and mold exposure, just to mention a few. And, she can certainly have multiple issues going on.

Does anyone know how IGeneX's testing protocol compares to a lab like ARUP? We'll plan to see a LLMD anyway, but it would be nice to know what the above results suggest before we go there.

Thanks,
Scotty81

 

[Old Bones]

Does anyone know how IGeneX's testing protocol compares to a lab like ARUP? .

Yesterday, I started listening to selected segments of the Lyme Disease online summit. This led me to search some forums in an attempt to decide whether I should use IGeneX or Stonybrook for my testing. One comment made was that some insurance companies won't accept a positive result from IGeneX because their test achieves more positive results. My interpretation was that insurance companies do so (or at least may do so) in order to reduce their costs for treating patients. No doubt others more knowledgeable about Lyme have better insight.

 

[duncan]

Stonybrook vs Igenex might make sense for Lyme (Igenex tests more proteins/bands, Stonybrook is probably more accepted). Not sure if they test differently for babesia, though.

If @Scotty81 is out in western US, should also look at babesia duncani.

Then there is the smear thing, and that is always a crap shoot.

Should also test for things like bartonella. TBD's can come in packages. That doesn't mean they will, only that they can.

Also, @Scotty81 , don't hesitate to call the lab and ask for clarification on a result. I do it all the time.

 

[valentinelynx]

I've been told there are 16 species of Babesia and thus testing for one (microti) does not rule out others. The only 2 commonly tested for are B microti (mainly East coast) and B duncani (mainly West coast). In general, accuracy of testing for co-infections seems to be as bad or worse than for Borrelia. Which leads to many LLMDs treating empirically for co-infections. Unfortunately, I think that the diagnosis of these infections based on symptoms is not at all scientific. One needs a factor analysis of symptoms versus known infection - if anyone knows of such a study, I'd love to see it. Clinical experience is very valuable, I don't dispute that, but in the current contentious environment, we need all the scientific support we can get for the diagnostic and treatment algorithms/approaches used by LLMDs.