The prevalence of Lyme disease in a nonendemic area. A comparative serologic study in a south Florida eye clinic population

J Clin Neuroophthalmol. 1989 Sep;9(3):148-55.

Abstract

Serologic tests for Lyme borreliosis and for syphilis were performed on 75 patients seen in a 1-week period at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. The incident of syphilis was 8% and of Lyme borreliosis 3% in this study in a nonendemic area. The most common cause for a high titer serologic response for Lyme borreliosis in this group was a prior Treponema pallidum infection. The importance of getting VDRL, FTA-ABS, Lyme IFA, and Lyme ELISA tests in all suspected cases was emphasized.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Child
  • Cohort Studies
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Florida
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / analysis
  • Immunoglobulin M / analysis
  • Lyme Disease / epidemiology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Serologic Tests
  • Syphilis / epidemiology
  • Syphilis Serodiagnosis

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M