Patent ID: 8313915

Claim:
A method of distinguishing vaccinated or non-vaccinated animals that have been infected with Borrelia burgdorferi from a) non-vaccinated animals that have not been infected with Borrelia burgdorferi and b) animals that have been vaccinated with a Borrelia burgdorferi vaccine that does not stimulate substantial production of an antibody reactive with a 20 kDa polypeptide in a Western blot assay, but have not been infected with Borrelia burgdorferi , the method comprising: a) contacting a biological sample from an animal with an isolated Borrelia burgdorferi polypeptide with an apparent molecular weight of 20 kDa, wherein the polypeptide specifically binds to antibodies that are a component of the animal's immune response to a Borrelia burgdorferi infection; and b) detecting whether antibodies in the sample specifically bind to the Borrelia burgdorferi polypeptide; wherein, if antibodies in the biological sample specifically bind to the polypeptide, then the animal is infected with Borrelia burgdorferi and is distinguished from a) non-vaccinated animals that have not been infected with Borrelia burgdorferi and b) animals that have been vaccinated with a Borrelia burgdorferi vaccine that does not stimulate substantial production of an antibody reactive with a 20 kDa polypeptide in a Western blot assay, but have not been infected with Borrelia burgdorferi.