Since some Western Blot bands are specific to the LYME bacteria, if you have any one of these bands showing on your test, LLMDs consider this to be enough to diagnose a LYME infection.
Interpretation of the Western blot—More is not necessarily better.
IgG
IgG
IgM
IgM
Band
kDa
Band importance
Ma et al.
2 of 6
CDC
5 of 10
Ma et al
2 of 5
CDC
2 of 3
18
Thought to be specific
22
Thought to be specific
23-25
OSP-C highly specific
28
Not specific
30
Thought to be specific
31
OSP-A highly specific
34
OSP-B highly specific
37
Thought to be specific
39
Thought to be specific
41
Non-specific flagella
45
Non-specific
58
Non-specific
66
Non-specific
73
Non-specific
88
Thought to be specific
93
Thought to be specific
Engstrom found 2 of 5 bands to be highly sensitive and specific for Lyme disease (Engstrom 1995), while 46 of 66 symptomatic pediatric patients with a history of bulls eye rash and tick bite were negative by CDC criteria (Fawcett 1995 Rheumatology Symposia Abstract #1254.) The CDC criteria are intended only for surveillance purposes, not diagnosis. Many physicians interpret the Western blot based on the number and specificity of the patient’s bands. See also (Ma et al. 1989).
