Lyme disease is caused by four main species of bacteria: Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia mayonii, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii bacteria. Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii cause Lyme disease in the United States, while Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii are the leading causes of Lyme disease in Europe and Asia. The most common tick-borne illness in these regions, Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of an infected black-legged tick, commonly known as a deer tick.

PPA can obtain whole blood and plasma samples from these patients when they become available to our network of clinicians. Some disease types may have a long backorder depending on the frequency of the disease occurrence in the general population. All samples come from fully consented IRB approved collections.