title: An indirect microhemagglutination test for Lyme disease.
abstract: We have developed an indirect microhemagglutination test (IMHA) for detecting antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi using formalin-fixed chicken erythrocytes sensitized with a sonicated extract of the bacteria. The specificity of IMHA for Lyme disease was compared with that of a conventional indirect immunoperoxidase technique (IP) using sera from the patients with syphilis, randomly-chosen outpatients unrelated to Lyme disease, and from normal individuals. The IMHA was more specific than IP, giving little cross-reaction with syphilis. The IMHA also gave little background reactions with the sera of individuals unrelated to Lyme disease or syphilis. Therefore, the IMHA could be a useful test for the serodiagnosis of Lyme disease.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Ohara General Hospital, Fukushima.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Homma
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000276:immunology*; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010455:Peptides
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; D010455:Peptides; C072752:ovocystatin