False-Positive Serological Test Results for Lyme Disease in a Patient with Acute Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection

Strasfeld, Lynne; Romanzi, Lauri J.; Seder, Richard H.; Berardi, Victor P.

doi:10.1086/498319

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…burgdorferi antibodies by the means of the ELISA method. The underlying cause of cross-reactions can be other infectious diseases: syphilis, rickettsioses, mononucleosis infection, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and Herpes simplex virus-2 infections [9,10]. In the majority of cases false positive results can be excluded upon the application of the Wb test [11,12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Presence of Anti-Ebv Antibodies as the Cause of False Positive Results in the Diagnostics of Lyme Borreliosis

Plewik¹,

Tokarska-Rodak

Paszkiewicz

2016

hpc

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Presence of Anti-Ebv Antibodies as the Cause of False Positive Results in the Diagnostics of Lyme Borreliosis

Plewik¹,

Tokarska-Rodak

Paszkiewicz

2016

hpc

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“…p41, OspC, BmpA (p39) which direct the diagnostic proceedings in a wrong direction. The antibodies of the cross-reaction for antigens OspC, p39 B. burgdorferi were also observed in the samples with serum of patients with the infection Treponema pallidum, Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2 (Depietropaolo et al, 2005;Strasfeld, et al, 2005). The antigen Epstein Barr VCA-gp125 (Virus Capsid Antigen) together with antigens B. burgdorferi were applied in one of the WB tests used in the diagnostics of Lyme disease.…”

Section: Problems In the Diagnosis Of Lyme Disease Are Connected Withmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Serology Diagnostic Schemes in Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Infections – Significance in Clinical Practice

Tokarska-Rodak¹,

Kozioł-Montewka²

2012

Lyme Disease

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“…Other researchers also observed false positive results in anti-Borrelia serological tests in patients infected with other pathogens. Strasfeld et al [29] reported cases of false positive results obtained in ELISA tests for IgM antibodies in patients with herpes simplex virus type 2 infections. Garment et al [30] obtained a false positive result in the IgM class in anti-Borrelia ELISA and the WB test in a patient with thyroiditis, with positive results of IgG anti-CMV and anti-EBV antibodies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-Reactive Results in Serological Tests for Borreliosis in Patients with Active Viral Infections

et al. 2022

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Currently, serological tests for Lyme disease (LD), routinely performed in laboratories following the European Concerted Action on Lyme Borreliosis recommendations as part of two-stage diagnostics, are often difficult to interpret. This concerns both the generation of false positive and negative results, which frequently delay the correct diagnosis and implementation of appropriate treatment. The above problems result from both morphological and antigenic variability characteristics for the life strategy of the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, a complicated immune response, and imperfections in diagnostic methods. The study aimed to check the reactivity of sera from 69 patients with confirmed infection with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and BK virus (BKV) with Borrelia antigens used in serological tests: indirect immunofluorescence (IIFT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and immunoblot (IB). In the group of patients infected with EBV, the highest percentage of positive/borderline anti-Borrelia IgM and IgG results was obtained in the following tests: IIFT (51.9% for IgM, 63.0% for IgG), ELISA (22.2% for IgM, 29.6% for IgG) and IB (11.1% for IgM, 7.4% for IgG). In the group of CMV-infected patients, the highest percentage of positive/borderline anti-Borrelia IgM results were obtained in the following tests: IB (23.1%), IIFT (15.4%) and ELISA (7.7%), while in the IgG class in the IIFT (15.4%), IB (11.5%) and ELISA (3.9%) tests. In the group of patients infected with BKV, the highest percentage of positive/borderline anti-Borrelia IgM results was obtained in the following tests: IIFT (25.0%), IB (25.0%) and ELISA (3.9%), and in the IgG class in the tests: IB (50.0%), IIFT (6.2%) and ELISA (6.2%). The native flagellin (p41) and OspC proteins were the most frequently detected Borrelia antigens in all studied groups of patients in both classes of antibodies. Similar to other authors, the study confirmed the fact that serological tests used in the diagnosis of LD have a high potential to generate false positive results in patients with active viral infections, which may be related to cross-reacting antibodies appearing during the most common polyclonal activation of T/B lymphocytes, activated by viral superantigens.

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False-Positive Serological Test Results for Lyme Disease in a Patient with Acute Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

The Presence of Anti-Ebv Antibodies as the Cause of False Positive Results in the Diagnostics of Lyme Borreliosis

The Presence of Anti-Ebv Antibodies as the Cause of False Positive Results in the Diagnostics of Lyme Borreliosis

The Serology Diagnostic Schemes in Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Infections – Significance in Clinical Practice

Cross-Reactive Results in Serological Tests for Borreliosis in Patients with Active Viral Infections

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