A new at-home test could give people bitten by ticks a faster way to find out whether the insect was carrying the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, although health experts warn that the result cannot determine whether a person has been infected.
LymeAlert, developed by a US-based company, is designed to detect Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. The company says the test can identify the bacteria in a tick within about 30 minutes.
The kit is available for pre-order for $49.99 and is expected to begin shipping at the end of August.
To use the test, a person places the tick into a container supplied with the kit, adds a solution and closes the container. The tick is then crushed by twisting the top of the container before a test strip is inserted. The strip indicates whether Lyme-causing bacteria were detected.
The product was developed by Dawicki, a physician assistant and co-founder and chief executive of LymeAlert, after years of treating patients concerned about tick bites. Many patients wanted to know whether they should be tested for Lyme disease or whether the tick that bit them could be examined.
Lyme disease testing in people can be complicated because blood tests generally detect antibodies produced by the immune system. Those antibodies may not appear immediately after an infection, potentially producing a negative result if testing is done too soon.
Testing the tick could offer additional information, but experts caution that it cannot replace medical evaluation. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend routine testing of ticks because laboratories can use different testing standards and a positive result does not establish that the tick transmitted the bacteria.
The length of time a tick remains attached can also affect transmission. A person may also have been bitten by another tick that was never found, meaning a negative result from one tick cannot rule out Lyme disease.
LymeAlert does not require approval from the US Food and Drug Administration because it does not diagnose Lyme disease in humans. The company says the test is intended to identify whether the tick carries the bacteria.
If a tick tests positive, users are advised to contact a healthcare professional and discuss whether treatment is appropriate. The company hopes the additional information could help doctors make more informed decisions about antibiotics and reduce unnecessary prescriptions.
The developers are also studying environmental factors that influence tick populations, including climate and humidity. The company plans to develop tests for other tick-borne threats, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and alpha-gal, an allergy associated with certain tick bites.
Lyme disease remains a concern during the summer months, when people spend more time outdoors and encounter ticks in wooded and grassy areas.
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