Comparison of Antibody Titers against Borrelial Strains Isolated in Japan by the Microcapsule Agglutination Test for Serological Studies of Early Lyme Disease

抄録

Results of a passive microcapsule agglutination test using 2 Japanese strains, Borrelia garinii and Borrelia afzelii, were comparable to that of the passive microcapsule agglutination test using a Swiss strain Borrelia burgdorferi IRS in detecting antibodies of an early stage of Lyme disease patients in Japan. MCAT with microcapsule sensitized strain IRS seems likely to become one of the important tools for the early diagnosis of Lyme disease in the world. The highest titer of MCAT was detected in the serum samples of patients which were taken around 2 weeks after erythema chronicum migrans. The test is very simple and can be employed easily in diagnostic laboratories.