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Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses
Got a call from pediatrics doctor who scheduled Tanya's blood test. She explained that the screening test came back positive and now the blood was mailed to mail-in lab for more precise test.
She didn't remember the names of the tests. I named a few and she picked those that sounded most familiar... Oh, well. I suppose she didn't have the paperwork handy.
I asked whether the blood was also tested for parasite that often comes with Lyme. She didn't remember the name of disease. May be, "parasite" doesn't ring the bell or my accent was too bad. I explained why I'm concerned - it can't be treated with 2 weeks of antibiotics since it has a longer life-cycle. I looked it up on Internet. She said they don't have instructions to test for Babesiosis though the number of cases reported recently has been on the rise. But I can bring Tanya to infection disease specialist if I wish.

Useful links - if you got a tick bite, feel lousy and want to extract help from a medical professional in MA, come prepared:

Tufts NEMC, Dept of Rheumatology, Lyme Q&A

Lahey Clinic, Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Illnesses in the Northeast

Massgov / Dept of Public Health, Tickborne Disease Website

US Gov. Dept of Health & Human Services - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Division of vector-borne infectious diseases - Lyme

Lyme Disease Test
* Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This common and rapid test to detect Lyme disease antibodies is considered the most sensitive screening test for Lyme disease.
* Indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA). This test also screens for Lyme disease antibodies, but it may produce false results more often than ELISA.
* Western blot test. This test also detects Lyme disease antibodies and can confirm the results of an ELISA or IFA test. It is most often done to detect a chronic Lyme disease infection.

And no, sexual transmission of this spirochete is not known to occur.