A new test for Lyme disease is quicker and more accurate The test takes 20 minutes and is 95% accurate Current tests take one to two weeks and miss seven in 10 early-stage cases WEDNESDAY, Aug. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- An improved test for Lyme disease could provide accurate results within 20 minutes, researchers report. The test -- which resembles an AI-guided form of the at-home COVID-19 test -- would be a vast improvement over the current two-part lab test that takes up to two weeks for results, researchers said.
“A lot of folks find out they have Lyme disease well after the point at which they could have been treated very easily,” said researcher Dino Di Carlo , a professor of engineering and medicine in the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. “If we can measure rapidly, in a way that’s cost-effective and not a burden to the health system and the patient, then testing can be done more routinely.” Lyme disease is expected to affect more than 600,000 people in the United States this year, researchers said.
Caused by bacteria spread by deer ticks, the symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Other symptoms can occur months after a tick bite and include arthritis, heart palpitations, nerve pain and inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, the CDC says. Prompt treatment with antibiotics can stave off long-term symptoms in .