General information about this test:

Fassisi® BoTick is a rapid test for the direct detection of Borrelia antigens (B. garinii, B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. spielmanii) from ticks. The test is designed for the examination of small to medium-sized ticks (≤8mm ). A positive test result indicates that Borrelia is present in the tick.

Reagents and material supplied:

• 10 Fassisi® BoTick test cassettes
• 10 pipettes
• 10 sticks
• 10 tick tubes
• 1 bottle of reagent
• 1 package insert

Sample volume needed:

1 small to medium-sized tick extracted with buffer

Test time: 10 min

Performance characteristics:

Sensitivity: 90.00%

Specificity: 97.95%

TTP: 95.00%

Test principles:

For a positive result, two red lines appear in the reaction field of the test cassette. A red line in the T-region (T) of the reaction field indicates a positive test result. Borrelia antigen was detected in the tick. The less Borrelia antigens are present, the weaker the T-line. А faint test line is considered as a positive test result. The second red line in the C- region (C) indicates the control line, which indicates the correct performance of the test. The C-line is not a reference line and may have a different line intensity than the T-Line. In case of a negative result, only the control line is visible. If no control line appears after running the test, the test is invalid.

In order for the test result to be considered valid, it is mandatory to observe staining in the control (C) region of the test cassette - this ensures that a sufficient amount of sample has been used and that the test has been performed correctly.

Clinical significance:

Worldwide there are over 800 types of ticks, which can be generally divided into two families: hard ticks and soft ticks. Soft ticks can be primarily found in the tropics and subtropics. Hard ticks, however, including the common wood tick, exist all over the world and are a carrier of Lyme borreliosis (Lyme desease) and ESME. While ESME viruses are situated in the salivary glands of ticks and are transferred directly to the victim in the biting process, borrelia initially remains in the tick's mid-colon.

It is disseminated while the tick latches on and only reaches the victim through the salivary gland after several hours. Therefore, risk of a borrelia infection is minimal within the first hours after the bite. The excretion of pathogens begins at the earliest two hours after the tick has attached itself and only reaches its peak after 72 hours.