Utility of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto C6 Peptide for Serologic Confirmation of Erythema-Free Ixodid Tick-Borne Borrelioses in Russia

Table 3

IgM antibody responses to OspC and VlsE in PHOSPHAN prior to treatment (N = 391).

Patient Group	Number (%) of positive serum samples at the baseline in ITBB patients as a function of disease duration
	<7 days			≥ 7 days
	No. of patients	OspC IgM	VlsE IgM	No. of patients	OspC IgM	VlsE IgM
EM patients	133	13 (9.8)	13 (9.8)	58	15 (25.9)	9 (15.5)
EM/HGA patients	42	8 (19.0)	10 (23.8)	43	17 (39.5)	24 (55.8)
EM/TBE patients	11	0	0	6	0	0
EMF patients	24	2 (8.3)	2 (8.3)	7	0	1 (14.3)
EMF/HGA patients	31	0	2 (6.5)	9	4 (44.4)	3 (33.3)
EMF/TBE patients	19	5 (26.3)	1 (5.3)	8	0	1 (12.5)

EM = erythema migrans, EMF = erythema migrans-free, EM/HGA = EM patients coinfected with HGA agent, EM/TBE = EM patients coinfected with TBE virus, EMF/HGA = EMF patients coinfected with HGA agent, and EMF/TBE = EMF patients coinfected with TBE virus. Statistically significant differences (Fisher’s exact test, p < 0.05) were observed for comparison of pairs: OspC IgM at EM duration <7 days versus OspC IgM at EM duration ≥7 days in EM patients; OspC IgM at disease duration <7 days versus OspC IgM at disease duration ≥7 days in EMF/HGA patients; VlsE IgM at disease duration <7 days versus VlsE IgM at disease duration ≥7 days in EMF/HGA patients; OspC IgM at EM duration ≥7 days in EM patients versus OspC IgM at disease duration ≥7 days in EMF/HGA patients; VlsE IgM at EM duration ≥7 days in EM patients versus VlsE IgM at disease duration ≥7 days in EMF/HGA patients. All other comparisons were not statistically significant.