Determination of serum anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibody and its clinical application in Lyme disease

Serum anti-Borrelia burgdorfer antibody （BB Ab） was detected by ELISA for diagnosing yme disease （LD）. A titer of three SD above the normal mean values of IgM and IgG anti-BB Ab n 24 healthy control sera was set as the upper limit for normal value, which is 57μg/ml and 0μg/ml for IgM Ab and IgG respectively. Compared with normal values, none of the 227 healthy ndividuals cwith or without a history of tick bites) and 54 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing pondylitis and facial palsy showed values exceeding the normal for both IgM snd IgG anti-BB Ab. Of the 5 atients with Lyme disease, levels of IgM Ab were high in 40% of patients with ECM; and those of IgG were igh in 92% of patients during late stages. These studies show that the determination of anti-BB Ab by LISA was found to be highly specific for LD and to be highly sensitive with regard to complicated LD, but ess sensitive with regard to ECM alone.