What makes this test so misleading is that many doctors accept high readings as an indication that the patient must really be sick. This logic is exactly backwards. If a patient is really infected with lots of bacteria, that means they have a lot of bacterial antigens floating around in the blood that are complexing free antibodies. So, as free antigen increases, free antibody decreases. Since the ELISA test detects only free antibody, a negative test might actually indicate a more serious infection. Many times, I have seen totally asymptotic patients with ELISA titers over 1000 be treated as though they were on death's doorstep simply because they had a high titer, while patients with borderline titers who are practically disabled are ignored, because a low titer is perceived as meaning less infected! These conclusions are erroneous and actually opposite to the truth, which is that a high titer means greater natural immunity.
In my opinion, the ELISA test is worthless as a diagnostic tool in Lyme disease. It is inconsistent and inaccurate, and should be discontinued as a tool to diagnose Lyme. If the NIH and CDC truly believe, as they've stated, that the diagnosis of Lyme disease is to be made on the basis of symptoms, then these tests should be temporarily banned until each manufacturer can prove efficacy using human serum.
