Antibody test is a reliable screen for ehrlichiosis

A collaboration between scientists at Yale and the State of Connecticut has yielded a simpler and more reliable blood test to diagnose ehrlichiosis. The disease, carried by the same deer tick that spreads Lyme disease, causes flu-like symptoms such as headache, fever and muscle cramps. It is not known if it can cause any long-term health problems. Jacob IJdo, M.D., and Erol Fikrig, M.D., collaborated with Louis Magnarelli, Ph.D., vice director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, in developing a test that seeks out antibodies specific to ehrlichiosis. Their findings were published in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.