ILADS and DualDur - a modern approach to Lyme disease diagnostics

A Lyme disease diagnostics is still one of the most difficult areas in the investigation of infectious diseases. This is because the pathogens that cause Lyme disease are not always easy to detect, and the symptoms are often ambiguous. Many patients present with fatigue, joint complaints, nervous symptoms, concentration difficulties or recurrent, fluctuating symptoms that may be indicative of other diseases.

This is why increasing attention is being paid to modern Lyme diagnostics, which is not based solely on a single test. In this approach, an important role is given to ILADS, and complex test models such as the Dual major. These approaches are similar in that they do not attempt to make a diagnosis from a single laboratory finding, but rely on the combined assessment of multiple pieces of information.

Below we explain what ILADS is, what DualDur is, how the two approaches are linked and why complex Lyme disease test.

Why is Lyme disease difficult to diagnose?

The detection of Lyme disease is problematic because there is no single test that is equally reliable in all situations and beyond reasonable doubt. The course of the infection may vary from person to person and the immune response is not always the same. For this reason, it is possible for someone to have the typical symptoms and still have a negative or inconclusive result from a conventional Lyme test.

The difficulty is caused by a combination of factors:

• symptoms are varied and non-specific,
• the infection may show a changing picture over time,
• serological tests usually measure the immune response rather than the pathogen,
• a Detection of Borrelia is not always easy,
• may often be necessary to testing for co-infections to move towards.

Ticks can carry not only Borrelia species, but also other pathogens. These so-called co-infections can affect symptoms, clinical presentation and interpretation of tests. For this reason, modern screening often involves a broader, multi-point diagnostic process rather than a single laboratory test.

What is ILADS?

From ILADS from International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society short for. It is an international professional organisation that brings together clinical experience, research and professional recommendations on Lyme disease and related infections.

A key element of the ILADS approach is that Lyme disease diagnostics cannot be reduced to a single laboratory finding. The body's approach to diagnosis is for the treating physician to assess it together:

• the patient's complaints,
• the time course of symptoms,
• the medical history,
• possible exposure to ticks,
• and available laboratory results.

ILADS 2026

ILADS 2026 is an important international event in the field of modern Lyme disease diagnostics and treatment, where the latest research, diagnostic trends and professional experience will be presented. Highlights of the conference will include a complex diagnostic approach, co-infection testing and detection of Borrelia by various methods.

DualDur will participate as an exhibitor at the event, where it will present its investigative approach towards modern Lyme diagnostics to a professional audience. International events such as this provide an opportunity for professionals to learn directly about new diagnostic approaches and to exchange experiences on the possibilities of direct detection and complex Lyme disease testing.

The essence of the ILADS approach

One of the central ideas of ILADS is that Lyme disease is often a clinical diagnosis, especially until reliable laboratory procedures became widely available. This means that the assessment of symptoms and anamnesis can be particularly important, because currently available serological laboratory tests do not always give a complete picture on their own.

This approach does not mean that the laboratory tests currently in use are not essential, but that they are part of the overall diagnostic process. ILADS therefore advocates a complex, multi-faceted assessment.

Why is ILADS important for patients?

The ILADS approach is important for many patients because it highlights the fact that the investigation of infections underlying persistent or recurrent complaints cannot always be solved by a single sample. Multiple approaches are often needed to understand symptoms, especially when the clinical picture is complex.

The ILADS approach is therefore closely linked to the modern Lyme diagnostics which takes into account newer and more complex methods in addition to traditional studies.