Is a Syphilis test and Lyme test the same test?

Alright, I know this might sound stupid, but if I had 2 negative syphilis tests done, did those tests look for the same "spiral" type bacteria as a Lyme test would? Or is it totally different? I know there is some talk of Syphilis and Lyme disease being similar, but I'm not very knowledgeable on the ELISA test and if it is a test that looks for each individually or if it is the same test for both. Sorry if this post isn't making much sense :P.

Thea

No, while syphilis spirochete are very similar to lyme spirochete it is a different test.

Did you know that syphilis is the original "Great Imitator"? They later stole the term for Lyme just like they stole the term Herx reaction also from syphilis. Now you can start to see why they are called cousin bacteria. It's amazing how similar they are, perhaps Lyme is just a mutation from syphilis.

Post Edited (SickInCT) : 1/21/2009 6:54:12 PM (GMT-7)