Sue Ellen Bell (@BelladonnaSue)

New Bay Area Lyme Foundation Study Shows Common FDA-Cleared Lyme Tests Miss 64-78% of Early Cases, Underscores Urgent Need for Improved Diagnostics ---🚨 A new study, based on data from the Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s Lyme Disease Biobank, shows that the most commonly used, FDA-approved tests for Lyme disease can miss 64 to 78% of early cases. A false negative can happen even when patients have an erythema migrans or “bull’s-eye” rash. There’s a very good reason why this happens: 👉 Most Lyme tests look for antibodies (proteins your immune system makes to fight infection) rather than the actual bacteria. 👉 In the first 1 to 2 weeks of infection, the body often hasn’t made enough antibodies to be detected yet. So the test can come back negative… even as the Lyme disease spreads throughout your body, resulting in a missed or delayed diagnosis that can have a long-term impact on your health. “It’s important for clinicians to understand the limitations of STTT and MTTT in early disease, and to rely on clinical judgment when evaluating patients with suspected early Lyme disease, particularly when there has been potential recent tick exposure and compatible signs and symptoms are present, to ensure prompt treatment,” said one of the researchers, John A. Branda, M.D. 💡The big takeaway: We urgently need better diagnostics—tests that can detect the bacteria directly, especially in those critical early days. Because earlier detection means earlier treatment, which leads to better outcomes. While this research focuses specifically on early cases, patients can get false-negative tests at any stage of infection. That's why it's so important for doctors to be educated in order to recognize the signs and make a clinical diagnosis. ---Read more in this press release: https://www.bayarealyme.org/.../new-bay-area-lyme... ---And learn more about testing for Lyme disease on our website: https://projectlyme.org/resource/how-do-you-test-for-it/ #tickbornediseases #lymediseaseawareness #science #research #diagnostics ---ProjectLyme Org