Tick test for persistent Lyme disease tried in humans

By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A small experiment to see whether uninfected ticks could “diagnose” a lingering Lyme infection in people produced modest results, researchers say. DNA from the Lyme parasite, but not live parasites themselves, were transmitted to the ticks from just two people out of two dozen who had persistent Lyme symptoms despite treatment. In animal studies, researchers have successfully used “xenodiagnosis,” or diagnosis with another animal, to detect the signs of a persistent Lyme infection in the blood. The technique has also worked in people to detect another parasitic infection, Chagas disease.