Combination of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay and Nested PCR for Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Human Serum Samples

A set of universal loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) primers targeting the fla gene was designed to detect Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (B. burgdorferi s.l.) in human samples. The sensitivity of LAMP was 20 copies/reaction, and the assay did not detect false positives among 11 other related bacteria. A positive LAMP result was obtained for 9 of the 24 confirmed cases and for 12 of 94 suspected cases. The positive rate of LAMP was the same as that of nested PCR. The LAMP is a useful diagnostic method that can be developed for rapid detection of B. burgdorferi s.l. in human sera. Combination of the LAMP and nested PCR was more sensitive for detecting B. burgdorferi s.l. in human serum samples.