Lyme disease has not been proven to exist in Korea, although the vector tick, Ixodes persulcatus, is present and eleevated antibody titers to Borrelia burgdorferi have been reported in some residents. In this study, serologically proven or
clinically
suspected tsutsugamushi disease patients in Chinhae area were chosen and tested for the indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) titer to B. burgdorferi, as they might had more chances of exposure to ticks. Among the 235 sera tested, 7.2% showed
IFA
IgG titers of 16-256, a lower rate than a previous study. More often the test sera reacted with Leptospira interrogans serovar lai. Most of the sera with antibody titer of ≥16 to B. burgdorferi were IFA negative to Treponema pallidum at 1:16
dilution.
It is concluded that, for the detection of Lyme disease, the Chinhae area is not a suitable place and concomittant testing of antibodies to L. interrogans is necessary to differentiate the cross reaction.
Key Words:Borrelia burgdorferi antibody, Ifa test.
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