No images? Click here MEMO: Changes to Lyme Disease Testing, Updated Resources and Reporting ToolsTO: Physicians and Nurse Practitioners in Niagara FROM: Niagara Region Public Health, Infectious Disease Program REFERENCE: Changes to Lyme Disease Testing, Updated Resources and Reporting Tools DATE: April 3, 2023 This memo is to inform you that the Public Health Ontario Lab (PHOL) will be moving to a different testing algorithm for Lyme disease. As of April 1, 2023, PHOL will begin testing patient samples for Lyme disease antibodies using a new method known as the Modified Two-Tier Testing (MTTT) instead of Standard Two-Tier Testing (STTT). In this method, initial screening will continue to be performed by IgG/IgM ELISA and samples that are reactive or indeterminate will be further tested using a second ELISA (rather than a Western Blot as was the process in STTT). MTTT, which has been evaluated by PHOL and endorsed by the Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network and US Centres of Disease Control and Prevention, provides 15-25% higher sensitivity during early-localized disease, and comparable sensitivity during early-disseminated and late-disseminated disease compared to STTT. The MTTT algorithm has also shown comparable specificity to STTT. Implications for Practice
Updated Clinical Guidance Resource
Updated Reporting Tools for Lyme Disease
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