Tick-Borne Disease Antigens for Commercial Assay Development

DUBLIN, N/A, IRELAND - Nov 8, 2018 - The number of tick-borne related illnesses have increased significantly in the last decade. According to the CDC, there has been a three-fold increase in disease cases from infected mosquitos, ticks and fleas in the US from 2004 to 2016. Consequently, there is an increasing need for assays that can detect the full spectrum of tick-borne agents as ticks are capable of harbouring a number of pathogens simultaneously.

Aalto Bio Reagents is committed to providing the full range of raw materials for diagnostic assay development of vector-borne diseases which already includes their recombinant Borrelia antigens and Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) antigen.

Recombinant Borrelia Antigens:

Lyme disease is a multisystem disease caused by infections with the bacterium, Borrelia. Transmission to humans is typically through the bite of an infected tick. Although human infection can occur throughout the year, most cases occur during early summer months when the tick nymphal stage is most active.

Clinical features and methods for accurate diagnosis differ across continents owing to the type of causative Borrelia species. The predominant causative species in North America is Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. In Europe, at least three species may be responsible: Borrelia burgdorferi and, more commonly, Borrelia garinii or Borrelia afzelii.

Aalto Bio offers a wide range of recombinant Borrelia antigens including the immunogenic surface antigens OspC/OspA or DbpA, as well as VlsE and other proteins (p39, p41, p58, p83/100).

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) Antigen:

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is the most common tick-borne central nervous system infection in Europe and Asia. It is caused by three subtypes of TBE virus; European, Siberian and Far-Eastern, with the latter subtype causing the most severe illness.

TBE has become a growing public health challenge despite access to a vaccine. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the number of human cases of TBE in all endemic regions of Europe has increased by almost 400% in the last 30 years.

The diagnosis of TBE is based on the detection of specific IgM or IgG antibodies in serum or CSF since these antibodies are detectable in practically every case at the time of hospitalization. Aalto Bios native TBE antigen (code BM 6154-b) is suitable for both IgG and IgM application and is being used in a number of commercially available CE marked assays.

The challenge of Lyme disease diagnosis is compounded by the fact that a lot of patients that are positive do not show symptoms for some time after the tick bite. Aalto Bio is helping the diagnostics world to build better diagnostic assays for Lyme disease and TBE as the numbers of positive cases have trebled in the past 12-13 years, and there is a need for more sensitive and specific Lyme and TBE assays to earlier diagnose both disease types. This exciting press release, which coincides with Medica 2018, marks the first in a series of dynamic tick-borne products coming down the line enabling our customers to bring superior, first in class assays to the market faster said CEO, Philip Noone.

About Aalto Bio Reagents

Founded in 1978, Aalto Bio Reagents is a leading developer and provider of raw materials to the in-vitro diagnostics industry and to research laboratories globally. We serve the largest multinational companies in our industry with a broad range of purified human proteins; monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies; fungal, parasitic, bacterial and viral antigens; and disease state plasma for in-vitro diagnostic application.

Since the company's inception, we have built strong working relationships with our clients who trust us to provide them with the highest quality raw materials to meet the exacting standards of their own product development requirements. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, the company is rapidly expanding both its product portfolio and customer base. For further information please visit http://www.aaltobioreagents.com