Tick test
Tick test with subsequent diagnostics
Ticks are the main carriers of Lyme borreliosis. According to the Robert Koch Institute, almost every second tick carries Borrelia. In addition to borreliosis ticks also transmit TBE. In addition, ticks can transmit different co-infections to the human body together with the Borrelia. These include, for example, pathogens such as Bartonella, Babesia, Rickettsia or Chlamydia, which in turn can cause various symptoms.
The Borrelia can be transmitted to humans by different tick species. The most common transmitter in Europe is the European wood Tick, which presents a great danger. The bacteria are living in the intestine of the tick, so it takes a certain time before the bacteria enter the human blood. The transfer of the bacteria begins approximately one day after the stitch. A fast removal of the tick is therefore particularly important, in order to prevent a possible infection, as well as an immediate bypassing tick test.
The first symptoms of an acute fresh Lyme borreliosis are very similar to those of a flu infection. Often they manifest as
- Fever,
- Fatigue and
- Severe tiredness.
After a tick bite, a quick and direct Tick Test can give some certainty about a possible infection. Overall, the number of annual incidence of borreliosis and TBE has increased. For this reason, an earliest possible Tick Test whether the tick was infected with pathogens is extremely important.
Remove ticks quickly and correctly
If the tick has infected the body, it must be removed as quickly as possible. In this case, it is important that all parts of the tick are removed as far as possible in order to avoid inflammation. In doing so, the tick is taken with a tick remover on the skin surface and pulled straight out of the skin. When removing ticks, care should be taken to ensure that the tick body is not squeezed, otherwise the borrelia may enter the organism. Once it has been removed, it is important to disinfect the puncture site with alcohol and have the tick tested for Borrelia by a tick test.
If you want to know if ticks are colonized with Borrelia or SSME virus, place the living or dead tick in a lockable container, eg a small screwable or a small sample bag and send it to a competent laboratory.
Clarity by tick test
With a PCR-assay it is possible to get a fast diagnosis after a tick bite. With the help of the so-called Tick-PCR, it is possible to determine in a short time whether a tick is infected with Borrelia. Under this lab-medical procedure, the genetic material (DNA) of the pathogen is detected in the infected tick. The Borrelia DNA is amplified on the basis of a so-called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subsequently detected by hybridization on high-specific gene probes. This standardized method increases the specificity and sensitivity compared "simple" DNA tests.
The laboratory physicians and doctor Dr. Waldherr from the Dedimed Europarc Laboratory classifies a tick test at home as unreliable. "The method of choice is the PCR method," explained Waldherr. In this examination, the tick must be sent to a laboratory. There, it is tested for pathogens by means of a so-called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Thereby the pathogens DNA is amplified. Just a few hours later the results are available.
A negative result means that no Borrelia or SSME viruses were present in the tick. An infection by this tick bite can be excluded with relative safety.
A positive result contains information on whether the tick carried Borrelia or SSME itself. An infection by this tick bite is possible, but does not necessarily took place. In addition to the dwell time of the tick, one should also pay attention to possible symptoms such as the usual symptoms of acute Lyme borreliosis. In other cases, you should also take blood tests for exciton-specific antibodies after approximately three weeks. In the case of Borrelia there is the possibility of a preventive treatment by antibiotics, which is only carried out over a very short period of time. If this occurs shortly after the tick bite, this prophylaxis can interrupt the infection in the initial phase before a manifest infection occurs, which should then usually be treated for several months.
Due to the fact that the PCR has a very high sensitivity, a positive test result significantly increases the probability of the transmission of borrelia. Even if the tick is "negative" by the PCR, you should wait and react for possible changes or symptoms. If the results of the Borrelia PCR were positive, we recommend the testing of the antibodies with our Borreliosis Test 'AK-18 Save' after approximately three weeks in order to detect or rule out the infection with Borrelia. The sooner a borreliosis is correctly and safely diagnosed, the higher is the probability of healing and the therapy can be initiated.
Further diagnostics
We recommend our AK-18Save Borreliosis test in the context of a pathogen-specific antibody test. In doing so, we investigate a possible borrelia infection with an above-average safety, instead of just merely treating the symptoms. The AK-18Save Borreliosis test is a total of 18 different examinations for Borrelia antibodies; which is significantly more than in routine. The hit rate is well over 90 percent in our test, whether the patient is serologically positive or negative. Two different measurement techniques are used. The Immunofluorescence test with 12 parameters and the Immunoblot test with 6 parameters. Within the framework of these measurement techniques, no classical screenings are carried out, but differentiation is made between the various pathogenic types of Borrelia. Thus a very high sensitivity and specificity is achieved.
More information about our Borreliosis Test AK-18 Save.