Characterization of the Borreliacidal Antibody Response to Borrelia burgdorferi in Humans: A Serodiagnostic Test

An in vitro assay was used to characterize the borreliacidal activity of serafrom Lyme disease patients. The mean percentage of killing was 23% with sera from patients with a single erythema migrans lesion, 42% from patients with multiple lesions, 58% from patients with Lyme arthritis of short duration, and 83% from patients with Lyme arthritis of long duration. Borreliacidal activity was abrogated when Lyme disease serum was treated with anti-human IgMor IgGl. In addition, human sera from Lyme arthritis patients containing borreliacidal antibody prevented the induction of Lyme arthritis in irradiated hamsters challenged with the Lyme spirochete