Lyme and Co-Infection Panel

Sample type: Urine

Turnaround time: 10 business days

Lab: DNA Connexions

The Lyme panel tests for four different genes that are found in Borrelia burgdorferi, the most common cause of Lyme disease in the United States, and 8 common Lyme disease co-infectors including Babesia microti, Babesia divergens, Babesia duncani, Bartonella bacilliformis, Bartonella henselae, Bartonella quintanta, Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia recurrentis, Ehrlichia chaffensis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Testing of Lyme co-infectors (other tick-transmitted organisms) indicates likely infection with the Lyme spirochete as well.

The DNA ConneXions® assay is a direct testing method designed to detect the DNA of the causative organism(s) itself. Conversely, an immunological based assay is an indirect testing method designed to detect antibodies produced in response to the infection. 

DNA Connexion's direct testing method is not dependent on the stage of infection or the patient’s immunological response. 

What does this mean? Let’s use this example: Let’s say you had chicken pox as a child. Your body fought the infection and produced antibodies that you still carry around today.  Therefore, if you were tested for those antibodies today, you would test positive even though you don’t have chicken pox currently.

Antibody testing only tells us that at some point you were exposed and your body experienced an immunological response. An antibody test DOES NOT tell you if the infection is active, where the DNA ConneXions® Lyme Panel DOES.