Testing for Tick-Borne Disease

This section covers testing approaches for tick-borne diseases, including how diagnostic protocols are structured, what evidence supports them, and where clinical and patient communities identify gaps or limitations.

In this section

  • Two-Tier Lyme Testing: What It Is, Why It Was Designed That Way, and Where It Fails — Examines the CDC/IDSA two-tier serologic testing protocol for Lyme disease — its structure, the 1994 Dearborn decisions that shaped it, its documented performance characteristics at different disease stages, and the contested readings of those limits by federal advisory bodies, clinical-guideline authors, and patient communities. Presents each position in its own voice without adjudicating.

  • After a Bite — immediate post-bite actions including tick specimen testing and short-term monitoring; this article covers the full landscape of diagnostic testing options for tick-borne diseases

  • Diagnostics and Treatment Research — research into next-generation diagnostic technologies and experimental treatment approaches; this article covers how patients use existing diagnostic tests and what their limitations mean in practice

    Not medical advice. See a healthcare provider for medical decisions. Medical Disclaimer