Brief Answer:
It looks due to tick bites. But I advise a PCR DNA test for Lyme disease.

Detailed Answer:
I warmly Welcome you!

Thanks for consulting me at virtual clinic. I have carefully worked through your case, and I can realize your health worries. Being your physician, I assure you not to worry as I will take care all of your medical concerns.

Unfortunately you fell in the nest of ticks and you got the most common vector-borne illness of our country (USA), the Lyme disease. It's from the infected genus Ixodes.

Actually I usually recommend to go for ELISA test in lab for the antibodies against the bacteria causing the disease. ELISA is a screening test. I think you have gone for that. It detects the patients with the disease, but may be inconclusive or I say it is borderline positive (equivocal).

If ELISA is equivocal, or I have a doubt, based on the clinical presentation of the patient, I definitely go for the PCR testing(more specific, rules out all the false positives. It stands like a rock, if you are positive, it says YES. If you are negative, nothing more or less than the green signals for you regarding Lyme disease).

So, I advise for you the PCR test (Polymerase chain reaction to detect in your body, the genetic material (DNA) of the Lyme disease bacteria). How can a bacteria play hide and seek with my patients? No way.

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DR. HANIF
XXXXXXX USA

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