How is Lyme disease primarily diagnosed?

Lyme disease is primarily diagnosed through serologic testing for antibodies. This method is important because it detects the presence of antibodies that the immune system produces in response to the specific bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease. Serologic testing can confirm an infection, especially in later stages when clinical symptoms might not be as clear or might overlap with other conditions.

While clinical symptoms are certainly important and can guide healthcare providers towards a suspicion of Lyme disease, the diagnosis must be supported by laboratory evidence to be definitive. Skin biopsies of the rash are not commonly used as the rash associated with Lyme disease, erythema migrans, is typically diagnosed clinically rather than through histological examination. Furthermore, while X-ray imaging might be useful in assessing joint involvement in cases of late Lyme disease, it does not provide any direct evidence of the infection itself. Therefore, serologic testing remains the cornerstone of Lyme disease diagnosis.