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Laboratory diagnostics of Lyme disease
DOSTÁLOVÁ, Simona
Lyme borreliosis is the most common infectious disease that is transmitted by ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria (anthropozoonosis). The diagnosis of this disease is based on the detection of specific IgG and IgM class immunoglobulins by specific laboratory tests. This bachelor thesis focuses on the evaluation of the clinical condition of patients by the attending physician (see case reports) in accordance with the results of laboratory tests. The correct diagnosis is based on the clinical symptoms, anamnesis and laboratory findings of each patient, which is used to guide adequate antibiotic treatment. In this work a comparison of two methods used for detection of antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi, the chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) method and the confirmatory Western blotting method used in the Clinical Laboratory of DIA-GON MP, s.r.o. in Cheb, is performed. The CLIA method provides rapid and sensitive screening for IgG and IgM antibodies, while Western blotting serves as a confirmatory test with higher specificity. The evaluation of the results and their interpretation are based on the detection of specific antibodies against Borrelia by Western blotting. The last part of the bachelor thesis is a search of an article from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, which cooperates with the State Institute of Health with the support of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic. It discusses tick activity in relation to their seasonal occurrence. On the basis of this article, I make an assessment of the seasonal occurrence of Lyme borreliosis in 2015-2017 with respect to the average temperatures in that period.
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Problems of laboratory examination in Lyme disease
HAVLEOVÁ, Lucie
Lyme borreliosis is a multisystem infectious disease most often transmitted by ticks of the genus Ixodes. In the Czech Republic, specifically by ticks Ixodes ricinus. The initiator of this disease is a complex of spirochetal bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. The incidence of the disease is relatively often as several thousand cases are reported in the Czech Republic every year. However the knowledge about Lyme borreliosis is relatively extensive and simultaneously an intensive research is constantly ongoing, the opinions of experts on this issue are still unfolding accordingly. So far, it is still rather difficult to diagnose Lyme disease, especially because of the various and sometimes non-specific clinical symptoms that might often lead to failure in diagnosis. As no effective vaccine has yet been developed, the only way to reduce the risk of infection is prevention and protection against the ticks. This work investigates and summarizes current knowledge about the history, etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical course, prevention, therapy, and diagnosis of Lyme disease. Patients suspected of having contracted Lyme disease were tested using a two-level screening, firstly by applying ELISA method in order to select either positive patients or patients with uncertain results so that a confirmation Western blot method could follow subsequently. The outcome of my work confirmed the well-known fact that Lyme disease is seasonal. The higher number of positive samples in the summer months is related to the increased activity of ticks during this period. However, the results of positive patients who are divided into groups by age or gender represent very interesting findings. Particularly the higher incidence of the positive samples can be found among women.
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