What is DualDur?

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The DualDur® test is a simple blood draw. It comes with the CE mark and valid registration, and is carried out in an accredited laboratory. The essence of our unique testing method is that it is designed to detect the bacteria causing Lyme borreliosis from the patients’ blood.
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The key to the DualDur® test is a cell technology medium and preparation method which allows us to prove the presence of the pathogen by direct testing. It makes Borrelia visible under the microscope, even before the development of the serological, that is, immune reaction, and before the symptoms become more pronounced.
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DualDur® has been verified by Europe’s largest Lyme diagnostic clinical research before the it was made available to the general public. After preparation by our method, using automatic dark-field microscopy (AIM) examination, we achieved significantly higher diagnostic results in the research than the standard methods currently in use.
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We recommend our examination after medical consultation, to those patients who are suspected of having Lyme disease or other bacterial infections, and whose symtoms remain even after treatment.

DualDur is therefore the only diagnostic procedure for the detection of Lyme disease that has been proven in a public, prospective research, certified in Europe and carried out in accredited laboratories in Europe. Compared to serological tests (Western blot, ELISA, ELISPOT, Vibrant, etc.), it gives a more reliable result on the actual situation of infection even when the immune response cannot be measured. Of the methods studied, DualDur gave the highest sensitivity value, thus best showed the actual infected state.

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You can inquire about our prices through the contact details provided. For information about the DualDur test, please contact us, and our colleagues will  inform you about the place and time of blood sampling appointments that can be booked. At our blood collection point, our qualified staff painlessly takes the required amount of blood in a few minutes.

The date and exact address of blood taking will be arranged after paying the proforma invoice. Blood draw appointments are usually bookable from Monday to Thursday.

test@dualdur.com
+36 30 108 5916

Tasks before blood sampling

What does the DualDur test entail?
The test is carried out in vitro, so the process takes place outside the body under controlled laboratory conditions. To do this, only 4 ml of blood is required from the patient, which is taken by qualified specialists into a special liquid.

How to prepare for the DualDur test?

As usual, blood sampling is done on an empty stomach, so do not take food 8-10 hours before the time of blood sampling, and please follow a fat-free diet for 24 hours before the blood draw, otherwise the test will be unsuccessful.

Before the examination, please read our Patient Information Leaflet, which you can request from your doctor or directly from our staff. You can also ask your doctor or our colleagues for more information about the test methodology. Before blood draw, you will provide your informed consent and adherence to the diet by your signature.

In order to carry out the examination and send you the results, we need your personal identification data, such as your name, birth name, mother’s birth name, date of birth and Social Security Number, as well as your e-mail address, telephone number or other contact details. We process this data based on the applicable Act XLVII of 1997 and GDPR, so your data will always be safe with us. We will not process your sample without your explicit agreement by signing the patient data sheet.

What does a fat-free diet mean?
Avoiding fatty foods is a relatively cumbersome diet that only needs to be followed for 24 hours, so it does not put strain on our body or our feeling of hunger. What is worth paying attention to is that there are foods and snacks that contain fat even if we do not necessarily consider them to be fatty. For example, one single almond contains 1 gram of fat, similar to other seeds so from the point of view of diet these foods should also be avoided. Also avoid all foods made using oil, such as salads with oil-based dressings, chips, as well as milk and other dairy products, meats (except plain chicken breast and turkey breast), avocados, chocolate, chia seeds, salmon, tuna, tofu, olives, etc. In case of uncertainty, the internet provides adequate information about the fat content of each food, but you can also skip the food in question to be on the safe side.
Recommended foods when following a fat-free diet:

  • Beans
  • Lentils
  • Ruffled cabbage
  • Spinach
  • Broccoli
  • Mushrooms
  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Oranges
  • Egg white (no yolk!)
  • Homemade pasta without oil (water, flour, spices)
  • Cod fillet
  • Boiled brown rice
  • Babfélék
  • Lencse
  • Fodros kel
  • Spenót
  • Brokkoli
  • Gomba
  • Alma
  • Banán
  • Narancs
  • Tojásfehérje
  • Olaj nélküli házi tészta (víz, liszt, fűszerek)
  • Tőkehalfilé
  • Főtt barnarizs

In all cases, pay attention to liquid intake! It is recommended to drink at least 2 liters of water per day and avoid juices and carbonated soft drinks. Water can be flavored with lemon if necessary.

FAQ

When will I receive my DualDur result?

It takes 2-3 weeks to get the test results, from the date of blood sampling.

What should I do if I get a positive result?

In case of borderline positive and clear positive results, please always contact your doctor for further tests, to make a diagnosis and to start the effective treatment as soon as possible.

What to do in case of a borderline result?

In case of a borderline negative result, if the symptoms persist, it is also recommended to consult a specialist and undergo a follow-up examination.

What should I do if my sample is not suitable for testing?

A failed result occurs when the patient did not or did not strictly adhere to a fat-free diet before blood sampling. In this case, it is necessary to repeat the blood test, after payment of another testing fee.

Are there any known side effects of the test?

The test is in vitro, i.e. it must be carried out outside a living organism, and our blood sampling syringes work with a safety lock. Re-injection into the body during blood sampling is completely excluded, therefore, the test method has no known side effects. During the blood sampling, there may be a slight dizziness, loss of consciousness or feeling unwell, therefore, at the blood collection point, our colleagues pay special attention to the safety and well-being of our patients. If you are prone to this kind of malaise, please always inform us in advance!

Is it possible to request an examination for my child?

The test can be carried out without problems for a child over 5 years of age. In some children, the required amount of blood can only be taken with difficulty. Therefore, in the case of a child under 10 years of age, if the test becomes inconclusive, the examination fee will be refunded, or a repeated blood draw will be arranged free of charge. Please indicate the blood sampling of a person under the age of 14 in advance, as it requires special preparation.

If someone has already taken antibiotics, is the pathogen still present in the blood?

The bacterium Borrelia, which causes Lyme disease, can be destroyed by (many times several weeks long, combined) antibiotic treatment. In this case, the pathogen is no longer present or is present to a small extent in the tissues of the body, including in the blood. If the pathogen has not been removed from the body and the symptoms persist, the DualDur test can also show positivity, as it directly confirms the presence of the bacterium.

If the symptoms return, might it be worth taking the DualDur test yet?

The DualDur test concentrates the pathogen directly from a blood sample taken into a special liquid, and then examines the live pathogens automatically with a dark-field microscope. Thus, unlike many other tests, it does not look at the body’s immune response, which changes only slowly after a successful treatment. DualDur is the only clinically proven direct test in Europe, so it is also suitable for post-treatment testing. It is recommended to wait 4-6 weeks after the end of treatment for this.

Why is it not enough to perform a test that examines the antibody produced by the immune system in the blood?

The body fluids of the tick after the bite are able to reduce the immune reaction. In the process of infection, the bacterium actively inhibits the body’s defenses. Thus, in most cases, an effective immune reaction cannot even develop or be measured. A waving in the level of antibodies can also be observed. As a consequence, tests based on an immune reaction do not give a positive result in half of the cases, despite the existing infection. The detection of infection in this case is best confirmed by the use of a direct test, the result of which depends only on the presence of the pathogen.

The bacterium that causes Lyme disease, according to many doctors, cannot be detected from the blood after a certain period of time. How does DualDur work?

Lyme disease has been with humanity for thousands of years. Its research, in turn, accelerated only in the last century, the causative agent of the disease was identified 40 years ago, using a dark-field microscope. In the case of a newly identified pathogen, it is even more important for doctors to follow the latest scientific developments. Some older publications mention that the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, is not found in the blood in as large quantities as other Borrelia species, e.g. the causative agent of recurrent fever. In addition, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to cultivate the pathogen from the blood. The most recent results already show that Borrelia and its DNA can be detected even in some patients who have undergone treatment. In addition, Eva Sápi and Eva Ruzic were able to cultivate it out of the blood using a lengthy method, but in almost 100 percent of the patients examined. DualDur chose a different direction. It does not cultivate or enrich, but extracts bacteria from the blood at concentrations of up to 1000 times, and then automatically identifies them with a dark-field microscope.

What do they see in the DualDur test under the microscope? Is it really Borrelia?

The occurrence of bacteria in the human body is natural, however, very few microbes survive in the blood. Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, is an exception that at first can survive in the blood without seemingly severe symptoms. Similar bacteria occur very rarely, and their presence would be accompanied by serious symptoms, high fever. Under the microscope, Borrelia is very well distinguished, by its unique movement and shape. There is no similar living formation in the blood.

You may wonder if the moving shapes are not artifacts. Tests were also carried out to show that no “pseudo-bacteria” were formed in the blood sample taken into DualDur liquid, at room temperature for 172 hours.

The DualDur test can determine if the Borrelia forms present in the blood are a sign of Lyme disease. This is evidenced by the clinical trial, much wider than mandatory, in which it clearly outperformed other tests.

In addition, the presence of Borrelia can be accurately demonstrated by a test that marks Borreliae but no other similar formations. This test is available in our laboratory, it is called immunofluorescence.

Will the DualDur result often be negative?

In some cases, a negative result is obtained. However, its proportion is not typical of the prevalence seen in the entire population. Why?

Usually, people who feel sick go for a blood test. We see patients who have been sent by a doctor with suspicion of an infection. Unfortunately, this suspicion is confirmed in many cases.

There are many negative results, for example, when the therapist wishes to check the efficiency of treatment. Testing in healthy people should give a negative result, this has been proven by the largest clinical trial in Europe, on the DualDur test.

If the result is positive and because of this your doctor asks for a second opinion from a specialist, then it is natural that this specialist will think that all the results are positive, since they will not be contacted with the negative result.

Still have questions about Lyme disease?

You can read more about the diagnosis of Lyme disease here.

If you have any further questions, please visit the Lyme Borreliosis Foundation website.

What are the opinions of patients about the DualDur test?

Fortunately, there are many forums to learn the honest opinions of patients about the DualDur test.

Weborvos Online Medical Magazine interviewed a number of patients with Lyme disease. In some of these, DualDur is also mentioned. You can find them HERE.

Contact

test@dualdur.com
+36 30 108 5916

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