Borrelia ELISA
Two new ELISAs provide highly sensitive and specific screening for Borrelia antibodies in the serological diagnosis of Lyme disease. The Anti-Borrelia Select ELISA (IgG) and the Anti-Borrelia Select ELISA (IgM) are based on unique combinations of highly specific recombinant antigens from different Borrelia species. The IgG ELISA includes VlsE, which is the most important target antigen for the detection of Borrelia-specific IgG antibodies. All antigens contained in the assay substrate have been carefully selected for their diagnostic value and mixed in optimized concentrations to ensure maximum test sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, many of the antigens have been modified by molecular manipulation to boost their diagnostic performance.
The most important component of the IgM ELISA is covalently bound, recombinant dimeric OspC (OspC advanced), which is exclusive to this ELISA. OspC advanced represents the biologically active form of the antigen and provides over 30% higher specificity than traditionally used monomeric forms, while maintaining a high sensitivity. Since antibodies against OspC are produced by 90% of infected persons, inclusion of this optimized antigen significantly enhances the performance of the test in early-stage borreliosis screening.
The ELISAs yield significantly fewer cross reactions than lysate-based tests, for example in patients with autoimmune diseases or other infections such as Treponema pallidum. The inclusion of antigens from different human pathogenic Borrelia species ensures reliable results regardless of the infecting species.
The Anti-Borrelia Select ELISAs are part of a complete package from EUROIMMUN for borreliosis diagnostics, which also includes immunoblots for the confirmatory diagnostic step, indirect immunofluorescence tests, CSF tests, avidity tests and comprehensive automation concepts for all products.
