Arthritis
Lyme borreliosis and Salmonella
Lyme borreliosisLyme borreliosis (LB) is an infectious multisystemic disease, most often
manifesting in skin, joints and neuronal regions. LB is transmitted to humans
during the blood feeding of hard ticks of the genus Ixodes.
Up to 35 % of
ticks are infected with borrelia. Following the discovery of the spirochete
(spiral-shaped bacterium) Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. as the causative agent of
LB, the disease emerged as the most prevalent arthropod-borne infection in
northern temperate climate zones around the world. Three different species have
been identified as most prominent: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu strictu, B.
garinii and B. afzelii.
The Diagnosis
Because of their broad antigen spectrum the IMTEC-Borrelia ELISAs possess high sensitivity – perfect as a screening tool! The antigen coating variants of both tests feature:
- Highly sensitive lysate antigens of all relevant
borrelia species
- Highly specific marker antigens (native OspC and
recombinant VlsE)
Salmonella
Reactive arthritis (ReA) is the second most common form of arthritis and
shows chronic progression in up to 40 % of cases. An early diagnosis based on a
careful clinical case history and laboratory work-up is therefore essential.
Especially Salmonella infections caused by pathogens with identical O-antigens
(group B and D) are closely linked to ReA. High IgA-class antibody titres
against these Salmonella serotypes are a highly sensitive marker for the
diagnosis of ReA. As the widely used Widal agglutination test mainly detects
IgM-class antibodies and therefore has a low sensitivity, it is therefore not suitable
for this purpose. On this basis, IMTEC has developed a unique test system for the reliable diagnosis of reactive arthritis.
The IMTEC Anti-Salmonella ELISA
utilizes lipopolysaccharides specific for S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis and
thereby ensures a sensitivity superior to other test systems.
Advantages of the Anti-Salmonella ELISA:
- Highly sensitive and specific detection of
persistent salmonella infections - Easy to automate
- Ready to use reagents and controls
- No pathogen culture required
- Higher sensitivity (88.5 %) than the Widal test
(38.5 %) for the diagnosis of persistent salmonella
infections - Cut-off controls for reliable interpretation
- Unique ELISA based on lipopolysaccharides
of S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis - Determination of IgA or IgG/IgA/IgM
IMTEC-Borrelia-Antibodies IgM
IMTEC-Borrelia-Antibodies IgG
IMTEC-Salmonella-Antibodies Screen (cut-off)
IMTEC-Salmonella-Antibodies IgA (cut-off)