Falsified: Microscopy method is not useful for detecting Borrelia & Babesia

[Art Vandelay]

Re the accuracy of Lyme testing, I was reading Amy Tan's Lyme story today and came across this mention of an interesting study:

I was later part of a small study in which my blood was drawn and sent to five labs throughout the country, including those at prestigious institutions. The results for the ELISA and Western Blot were different for every one of them. One reported I had a negative Western Blot, another said I had a positive PCR.

https://www.amytan.net/lyme-disease.html​

I wonder if it was ever published?

 

[duncan]

Nods. I've had similar experiences.

Once I had my blood sent to two labs. A single draw analyzed by two discreet labs in two different cities. I was positive on the ELISA for both.

It got a bit weird with the Western Blot. One lab identified four bands IgG positive; I was negative via the 2T. Ditto for the second lab. The only thing was, I registered positive for different bands. Combine the draws - remember, my blood drawn on the same day - and I would have been declared sero-positive via the CDC's 2T.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have tested differently among four or five labs from the same draw. I have ranged from four IgG bands positive to eight, depending on the lab. The only thing they were consistent on was the positive ELISA. Twice on the Western Blot, I tested both IgG positive and IgM positive, and I was not newly infected.

BTW, I also was tested against different strains by different labs. I have been tested against G39/40, strain 49736, and, of course, B31. I've tested positive and negative multiple times for all three. Yet when I asked if that means I have been infected with all three strains, I was informed, "Not necessarily." That actually makes sense, but it was still a little annoying.