Arocha-Sandoval F, Amesty-Valbuena A, Urbina M, Durango A I, Vargas-Montiel H
Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Zulia.
Invest Clin. 1994 Jun;35(2):91-104.
Between July 1992 and September 1993 an investigation was carried out in a population of Zulia State, Venezuela, in order to detect antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi for the diagnosis of Lyme disease. A total of 74 patients were studied: 37 asymptomatic and 37 patients clinically suspected having the disease. ELISA tests were performed to determine antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi. The positive cases, confirmed by duplicate, were tested with VDRL, Monotest, Rheumatoid Factor and Antinuclear Antibodies to eliminate false positives. The total positive cases were 14 of 74 (18.9%). Positive cases in the symptomatic group (29.7%) were higher than in the asymptomatic group (8.9%). The most frequent clinical diagnosis was Morfea (54.5%). The major serological diagnosis (54.32%) was obtained from the chronic patients (more than a year of evolution). A 45.5% of symptomatic patients presented antibodies, despite of receiving antibiotic treatment. Most of the symptomatic positive cases, and also the asymptomatic cases, had a previous visit or permanence in forestal or rural areas. The results of this investigation prove the existence of antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi in the population of Zulia State, both in the symptomatic as well as in the asymptomatic patients. These results open the path to use a more specific test like immunoblot, for the diagnosis of Lyme disease in our area.
1992年7月至1993年9月期间，在委内瑞拉苏利亚州的人群中开展了一项调查，以检测抗伯氏疏螺旋体抗体用于莱姆病的诊断。共研究了74例患者：37例无症状者和37例临床疑似患有该病的患者。进行了ELISA检测以确定抗伯氏疏螺旋体抗体。通过重复检测确认的阳性病例，用性病研究实验室试验（VDRL）、单试验、类风湿因子和抗核抗体进行检测以排除假阳性。74例中总阳性病例为14例（18.9%）。有症状组的阳性病例（29.7%）高于无症状组（8.9%）。最常见的临床诊断是硬斑病（54.5%）。主要的血清学诊断（54.32%）来自慢性病患者（病程超过一年）。45.5%的有症状患者尽管接受了抗生素治疗仍呈现抗体。大多数有症状的阳性病例以及无症状病例此前都曾去过林区或农村地区或在那里居住过。这项调查结果证明，在苏利亚州人群中，有症状患者和无症状患者体内均存在抗伯氏疏螺旋体抗体。这些结果为在我们地区使用更具特异性的检测方法如免疫印迹法来诊断莱姆病开辟了道路。
