New home test to detect Lyme disease in ticks available in Suffolk County

SUFFOLK COUNTY (WABC) -- As Lyme disease cases continue to rise, a new home test designed to detect Lyme disease-causing bacteria in ticks is set to reach consumers later this month in Suffolk County.

Some experts estimate there are 476,000 new Lyme disease cases each year in the United States. The disease is transmitted by ticks.

The test, called LymeAlert, is not intended to test people for Lyme disease. Instead, it is designed to determine whether a tick removed from a person's body carries the bacteria that causes the illness.

According to the company, users place a removed tick into a container equipped with customized teeth.

"You're gonna twist it to grind them up and mix the solution," the CEO said.

You stick a test strip into the container and it works like a COVID test.

The company said it developed the test because many people become concerned after finding and removing a tick. While some people send ticks to laboratories for testing, most do not.

LymeAlert also said it matched the accuracy of gold-standard PCR tests by splitting infected ticks in half and testing them side by side.

Doctors, however, cautioned that a positive tick test does not determine exactly when a person may have been exposed to an infected tick. They also noted that a positive result from a tick does not mean the person bitten will contract Lyme disease.

"If the tick has been attached for less than 36 to 48 hours, we don't recommend that they do take doxycycline, and that's backed up by our national guidelines," Stony Brook Children's Infectious Disease Physician Dr. Andrew Handel said.

In Suffolk County, where at least half of deer ticks carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, the county often records the highest infection rate in New York state and ranks among the highest in the nation.

Residents in Suffolk County expressed interest in the new test.

"Especially with the rise of ticks in the area, that would definitely be helpful," Christina Polanco of Sound Beach said.

The LymeAlert kits will sell for $50 each. The company said its app includes telehealth for any questions.

The CEO noted that some users particularly enjoy one part of the process.

"People report that is the best part of this whole process is grinding it to a pulp."

The first batch of 2,000 tests is scheduled to be shipped this month.

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