Lord Greaves – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the quality and availability of tests for Lyme disease and related diseases in (1) the United Kingdom, (2) the rest of the European Union, and (3) North America.

Earl Howe

Public Health England (PHE) actively reviews test methodologies for Lyme disease based on peer reviewed reports and on evaluation of possible alternative test kits within the laboratory. As part of this work, staff from the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) have attended international conferences, including those organised by pressure groups proposing alternative testing systems to those used in state laboratories, and met with private and state laboratory service providers in Europe and the United States.

RIPL offers a telephone advice line to clinicians with problem cases, and also works with the patient charity Lyme Disease Action to address the needs of individual patients. RIPL also participates in a European external quality assessment programme, and cross-compares results with Raigmore Hospital in Scotland.

All diagnostic tests for infectious diseases are less sensitive in the very early stages of disease, and the results of a laboratory test have to be interpreted in this light and in conjunction with the patient’s presentation. Whilst the current tests are not perfect, none of the alternatives have yet proven superior to accepted methodologies. Any novel methods to test for Lyme disease are kept under review.