The Past, Present, and (Possible) Future of Serologic Testing for Lyme Disease

Lyme disease prevails as the most commonly transmitted tick-borne infection in the United States, and serologic evaluation for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi remains the recommended modality for diagnosis. This review presents a brief historical perspective on the evolution of serologic assays for Lyme disease and provides a summary of the performance characteristics for the currently recommended two-tiered testing algorithm (TTTA). Additionally, a recently proposed alternative to the traditional TTTA is discussed, and novel methodologies, including immuno-PCR and metabolic profiling for Lyme disease, are outlined.