Background Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in the northern hemisphere. The diagnosis of LB is usually made by clinical symptoms and subsequently supported by serology. In Europe, a two-step testing consisting of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and an immunoblot is recommended. However, due to the low sensitivity of the currently available tests, antibody detection is sometimes inaccurate, especially in the early phase of infection, leading to underdiagnoses. Methods To improve upon Borrelia diagnostics, we developed a multiplex Borrelia immunoassay (Borrelia multiplex), which utilizes the new INTELLIFLEX platform, enabling the simultaneous dual detection of IgG and IgM antibodies, saving further time and reducing the biosample material requirement. In order to enable correct classification, the Borrelia multiplex contains eight antigens from the five human pathogenic Borrelia species known in Europe. Six antigens are known to mainly induce an IgG response and two antigens are predominant for an IgM response. Results To validate the assay, we compared the Borrelia multiplex to a commercial bead-based immunoassay resulting in an overall assay sensitivity of 93.7% (95% CI 84.8–97.5%) and a specificity of 96.5% (95%CI 93.5–98.1%). To confirm the calculated sensitivity and specificity, a comparison with a conventional 2-step diagnostics was performed. With this comparison, we obtained a sensitivity of 95.2% (95% CI 84.2–99.2%) and a specificity of 93.0% (95% CI 90.6–94.7%). Conclusion Borrelia multiplex is a highly reproducible cost- and time-effective assay that enables the profiling of antibodies against several individual antigens simultaneously.

Data Quality is, in essence, understood as the degree to which the data of interest satisfies the requirements, is free of flaws, and is suited for the intended purpose. Data Quality is usually measured utilizing several criteria, which may differ in terms of assigned importance, depending on, e.g., the data at hand, stakeholders, or the intended use.

International wurden Einstellungen von Erwachsenen ab 50 Jahren bezüglich einer Nutzung von evidenzinformierten Apps zur Bewegungsförderung bereits unter verschiedenen Aspekten untersucht. In Deutschland ist bisher wenig zu Einstellungen bezüglich solcher Apps in dieser Population bekannt. Ziele der Arbeit: Ziel der Fokusgruppeninterviews war es, Einblicke zu Einstellungen, Akzeptanz und Nutzungspräferenzen von Smartphone-Applikationen (Apps) zur Bewegungsförderung in der Altersgruppe ≥50 Jahre zu erhalten. Material und Methoden: Nutzer und Nichtnutzer von Bewegungs-und Fitness (B&F)-Apps wurden anhand eines Interviewleitfadens befragt. Faktoren, welche die Nutzung beeinflussen, wurden diskutiert sowie Einstellungen zu einer konkreten evidenzinformierten B&F-App (Health Mate). Die Interviews wurden transkribiert und anhand einer strukturierten qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse analysiert. Ergebnisse: Personen, die bereits Erfahrungen mit B&F-Apps aufwiesen, bewerteten die Nutzung solcher Apps insgesamt etwas positiver. Beide Gruppen wünschten sich eine leicht zu bedienende App mit wenigen Funktionen zur Bewegungsförderung. Händische Eingabe von Bewegungsdaten wurde eher abgelehnt, eine automatisierte Erfassung präferiert. Feedback zur Selbstkontrolle und soziale Vergleiche wurden als hilfreich für Bewegungsförderung und das Erreichen persönlicher Ziele erachtet. Bei der Datensicherheit gab es Bedenken. Die Funktionen von Health Mate (z.B. Feedback, Badges) wurden von Nutzern und Nichtnutzern unterschiedlich akzeptiert. Diskussion: B&F-Apps werden von Personen ab 50 Jahren vorsichtig positiv eingeschätzt. Nutzer als auch Nichtnutzer bevorzugen einfach zu bedienende Apps mit angepasster Anzahl an Funktionen.

Background Lyme borreliosis is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in Europe, and numbers might increase due to climate change. However, borreliosis is not notifiable in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany. Hence, little is known about the current human seroprevalence in NRW. However, the proportion of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-infected ticks has increased in a NRW nature reserve. The literature suggests increasing age and male sex as risk factors for seropositivity, whereas the influence of socioeconomic status is controversial. Thus, we aimed to determine regional seropositivity for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (B. burgdorferi s.l.) and its risk factors in the Rhineland Study population in Bonn, NRW, and to compare it with previous surveys to evaluate potential effects of climate change. Methods We assessed seropositivity in 2865 Rhineland Study participants by determining immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies for B. burgdorferi s.l. using a two-step algorithm combining enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests and line immunoblots. We calculated the odds of being classified as IgG or IgM positive as a function of age, sex, and educational level using binomial logistic regression models. We applied varying seropositivity classifications and weights considering age, sex and education to compensate for differences between the sample and regional population characteristics. Results IgG antibodies for B. burgdorferi s.l. were present in 2.4% and IgM antibodies in 0.6% of the participants (weighted: 2.2% [IgG], 0.6% [IgM]). The likelihood of IgG seropositivity increased by 3.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5–5.2%) per 1 year increase in age. Men had 1.65 times the odds for IgG seropositivity as women (95% CI 1.01–2.73), and highly educated participants had 1.83 times the odds (95% CI 1.10–3.14) as participants with an intermediate level of education. We found no statistically significant link between age, sex, or education and IgM seropositivity. Our weighted and age-standardized IgG seroprevalence was comparable to the preceding serosurvey German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS) for NRW. Conclusions We confirmed that increasing age and male sex are associated with increased odds for IgG seropositivity and provide evidence for increased seropositivity in the highly educated group. B. burgdorferi s.l. seropositivity remained constant over the past decade in this regional German population. Graphical abstract