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The main objective of the study was to see if this type of xenodiagnosis is safe and appropriate for humans, and the answer seems to be yes since the major complaint from subjects was mild itching, said Justin D. Radolf of the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington.

But the new report, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, describes the first attempt to use xenodiagnosis for Lyme disease.

In animal studies, researchers have successfully used "xenodiagnosis," or diagnosis with another animal, to detect the signs of a persistent Lyme infection in the blood.