Sj. Cutler et al., SIMPLIFIED METHOD FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF IMMUNOBLOTS FOR LYME BORRELIOSIS, FEMS immunology and medical microbiology, 6(4), 1993, pp. 281-286
Interpretation of immunoblot results for Lyme borreliosis remains an a
rea of controversy. This study was undertaken to devise a simple metho
d which incorporated distinctions between specific and non-specific ba
nds. A numerical value was assigned to bands reflecting their relative
importance. This scheme was evaluated with sera from 61 forestry work
ers, which were previously tested by immunoblotting and interpreted su
bjectively. These results were reported as five separate categories re
presenting levels of reactivity. A total of 72% (44) of sera fell into
the same categories as they were originally reported. The method was
also assessed with 40 sera routinely submitted for Lyme borreliosis se
rology. These were interpreted by two members of staff without previou
s experience of immunoblotting. Their results gave 80% and 72.5% agree
ment with those of an experienced person used to reading immunoblots f
or Lyme borreliosis.