Active or past infections question

My blood work for bartonella henselae IFA IgG came back 4x the titer reference range (1:256 compared to 1:64). According to the lab that did the test, they are maintaining that this test does not differentiate between active or past infection. But my LLMD is indicating that since the titer came back to high compared to the reference range, it DOES indicate an active infection. When I told the lab this, they still wouldn’t budge and said the test does not differentiate. So which exactly is it?

From what I’ve read/learned you can’t differentiate between active and past infection with antibody testing.

PCR testing is one way BUT a negative doesn’t mean it’s negative - a positive is confirmation tho.

Not all llmd’s trust the DNA Connexions testing.
One reason LLMD MR doesn’t is he said his patients symptoms didn’t line up with the DNA Connexions test results.

Plus the DNA Connexions lab has not done validation studies - which reputable labs do.

Girlie said...
PCR testing is one way BUT a negative doesn’t mean it’s negative - a positive is confirmation tho.

Not all llmd’s trust the DNA Connexions testing.
One reason LLMD MR doesn’t is he said his patients symptoms didn’t line up with the DNA Connexions test results.

Plus the DNA Connexions lab has not done validation studies - which reputable labs do.

Igenex and Quest also offer PCR testing for bartonella.

I got a false negative from igenex, though that doesn't mean the test was bad, it might just be that there weren't any bacteria in that sample.

cppoly said...
Thanks for input. But is there any credence to the level of the titer equating to an active infection??

For instance if an IFA IgG is baseline 1:64 but you have a very high titer 1:256 or greater, does that mean it's *more* likely to be an active infection or not at all?

Yes, I believe there is credence. My doctor viewed my mycoplasma IGG titers that way. IGM was negative but IGG was more than double what it should have been. My chlamydia pneumonia titers were positive both IGG and IGM. IGG titers came down some after herbal abx treatment.

Quin said...

Girlie said...
PCR testing is one way BUT a negative doesn’t mean it’s negative - a positive is confirmation tho.

Not all llmd’s trust the DNA Connexions testing.
One reason LLMD MR doesn’t is he said his patients symptoms didn’t line up with the DNA Connexions test results.

Plus the DNA Connexions lab has not done validation studies - which reputable labs do.

Igenex and Quest also offer PCR testing for bartonella.

I got a false negative from igenex, though that doesn't mean the test was bad, it might just be that there weren't any bacteria in that sample.

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Yes I know other labs do pcr testing - I was responding to the comment about DNA Connexions lab.