T-Cell Testing vs. Antibody Testing for Lyme disease - What’s the difference?
Contrary to popular belief, there is no “best test” for Lyme disease. Because it can be difficult to detect the bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) directly, most initial tests rely on measuring the immune response as an indirect indicator of exposure to the bug and consequently infection.
But there are different ways that the immune system can respond to infectious organisms and different ways to measure immune activity against a specific infection.
Beyond Borrelia - co-infections in tick borne illness
Perhaps the most well known consequence of a tick bite is Lyme disease, or infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. This is just one of many bugs that can be transmitted from a tick-bite. We refer to these other bugs as tick borne co-infections.