Development of a sensitive molecular diagnostic assay for detecting Borrelia burgdorferi DNA from the blood of Lyme disease patients by digital PCR.

ABSTRACT: Lyme disease patients would greatly benefit from a timely, sensitive, and specific molecular diagnostic test that can detect the causal agent Borrelia burgdorferi at the onset of symptoms. Currently available diagnostic methods recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Lyme disease involve indirect serological tests that rely on the detection of a host-antibody response, which often takes more than three weeks to develop. With this process, many positive cases are not detected within a timely manner, preventing a complete cure. In this study, we have developed a digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that detects Lyme disease on clinical presentation with a sensitivity two-fold higher than that of the currently available diagnostic methods, using a cohort of

SUBMITTER: Das S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7703891 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature