I
believe that you are talking about
two different lab tests. Igenex can run both the Western Blot and a PCR. The PCR is done on whole blood and on serum - if I'm understanding correctly. The PCR test looks for the spirochete DNA. They also offer the Lyme Blot dot for urine,(from Igenex site)"looks for pieces of the bacteria in urine as well as DNA of B. burgdorferi in the urine. Most physicians use an antibiotic challenge to make the test more sensitive."
From Advance Labs on their site, their link to "Borrelia culture fact sheet":
www.advanced-lab.com/downloads/Borrelia_Culture_Fact_Sheet.pdf " How is a culture done?
The sample is incubated and after ten to fourteen days it is tested by darkfield microscopy, polyclonal and monoclonal immunostaining, and by multivalent nested PCR. If Borrelia are seen then, a final report of a positive result is generated and sent to the practitioner. If no Borrelia are seen with these methods, then the sample is placed into Long Term Culture that is assayed once, at two months, and a final report is generated at that time. Less than half of the samples need the Long Term Culture."
Which ever lab you choose to use, please be aware of the steps necessary to complete this test successfully - like the no abx or abx herbs for a specified amount of time.