Bartonella ImmunoBlot IgM (374)

Overview:

The Bartonella IgM ImmunoBlots are designed to detect IgM antibodies to Bartonella species including Bartonella henselae, B. quintana, B. elizabethae and B. vinsonii antigens in serum of patient suspected of having Bartonella infection. For diagnostic purposes, the Bartonella ImmunoBlot test results should be used in conjunction with clinical symptoms and other evidence available to the diagnosing practitioner.

Principle: ImmunoBlotting is a form of testing that uses multiple pure, recombinant proteins sprayed in precise amounts at specific positions on the test strips to dramatically increase accuracy, and has long been considered the gold standard in infectious disease testing due to its superior sensitivity and specificity. These tests effectively replace traditional tests such as ELISA and the western blot.

Until recently, diagnostic tests for Bartonella have been grossly insensitive and have not been able to detect many of the ever-growing list of species and strains. The new IGeneX ImmunoBlots overcome these obstacles with the ability to detect antibodies to multiple species of Bartonella, including B. henselae, B. quintana, B. elizabethae and B. vinsonii.

Performance Characteristics:

Sensitivity: 15 samples were blood-culture positive for Bartonella and validated with PCR. All 15 samples were positive by either ImmunoBlot IgM and/or IgG.

Specificity: Based on a study performed on 34 well-characterized clinical samples, of which 10 of the samples were negative for Bartonella and positive for antibodies to other tick-borne pathogens, the specificity of the Bartonella ImmunoBlot test is 100%.

Stage of Disease: Early Disease

Test Methodology: ImmunoBlot