Scientists to test “your” tick for the presence of Lyme disease spirochetes

31.05.2022
PAWEL JASKOLKA / AGENCJA SE/East News

Scientists from the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw (UW) in cooperation with the Medical University of Warsaw (MUW) and Laboratorium AmerLab (spin-offs of the University of Warsaw and the Medical University of Warsaw) are implementing the OPUS project of the National Science Center for the occurrence of Borrelia spirochetes in common ticks.

People who found a tick can send material free of charge to the Faculty of Biology of the University of Warsaw. It provides with a molecular test that detects the genetic material of the spirochetes that cause Lyme disease.

The condition for participation in the test is to deliver the parasite within 3 days of removing it from the skin and to complete two online questionnaires: after submitting the tick for testing and 8 weeks after removal. The waiting time for the result is up to 10 business days.

According to the University of Warsaw, the project under the OPUS grant has been implemented since 2021. Last year, scientists from the Faculty of Biology collected almost 900 ticks, and more than 20% of them were infected with Borrelia spirochetes.

More:
http://parazytologia.biol.uw.edu.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33&Itemid=127


Medicine and biotechnology