MILPITAS, Calif., Oct. 8, 2019 — The Division of Laboratories of the Department of Health of the State of New York has approved IGeneX’s newly developed Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever (TBRF) ImmunoBlots (IgM and IgG), making them immediately available to New York practitioners.
Until recently, diagnostic tests for TBRF have been grossly insensitive and have not been able to detect many of the ever-growing list of species and strains of TBRF Borrelia carried by hard and soft ticks. The new IGeneX ImmunoBlots overcome these obstacles with the ability to detect antibodies to TBRF Borrelia species including, but not limited to, B. hermsii, B. miyamotoi, and B. turicatae.
TBRF is often considered a Lyme disease imitator because both TBRF and Lyme sufferers display many similar symptoms, such as high fever, chills, and headache, often leading to misdiagnosis. Moreover, some of the Borrelia that cause TBRF are transmitted by the same ticks that transmit B. burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Therefore, it is important for physicians to test for both TBRF and Lyme.
“We are very excited to be able to offer the TBRF ImmunoBlots to physicians in New York State,” said Dr. Jyotsna Shah, President of IGeneX. “Doctors use to call me and say ‘my patients have Lyme-like symptoms. Why are your tests negative?’ We now know that their symptoms might have been due to TBRF Borrelia infection. These new TBRF ImmunoBlot tests will help patients in this group, as well as patients with Lyme and TBRF Borrelia mixed infections.”
The accuracy of the TBRF ImmunoBlot has been established. The specificity is 98.5% for IgM and IgG based on a study performed on 212 well characterized samples, of which 50 were provided by the CDC. Additionally, the TBRF ImmunoBlots can detect the full spectrum of disease: early, active and late-stage disease.
For more information on IGeneX and the TBRF ImmunoBlot tests, please visit https://igenex.com.
About IGeneX
For over 25 years, IGeneX has been at the forefront of research and development of diagnostic testing for Lyme disease, TBRF, Bartonella, and other tick-borne diseases. IGeneX arms its talented scientists with the most cutting-edge technology available to enable them to find new solutions that challenge the status quo of testing for Lyme and associated tick-borne diseases. The mission of IGeneX is to aid practitioners in their diagnosis of tick-borne illnesses by providing the most comprehensive testing possible. Learn more at: www.igenex.com
