CDC: tick test results should not drive clinical decisions
CDC explicitly recommends against treating people based on tick pathogen test results, because pathogen presence in the tick does not equal infection in the host.
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Pathogen detection in a tick does not prove transmission occurred.
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Many ticks are infected but feed too briefly to transmit (Borrelia typically needs 36-48 hours).
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Tick test labs are not regulated to clinical-laboratory standards (not all CLIA-certified for human diagnostics).
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A negative tick test can falsely reassure when the patient was bitten by a different, untested tick.
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Use clinical exam, exposure history, and validated human diagnostics — not tick PCR — to guide treatment.