# Blood tests for a deadly infection have a lingering blind spot

Source: [Earth.com](https://www.earth.com/science/blood-tests-for-a-deadly-infection-have-a-lingering-blind-spot/) · 2026-11-11 · Earth & Climate
Page: https://themorning.science/story/blood-tests-for-a-deadly-infection-have-a-lingering-blind-spot-655dbfa8bb53fa40
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- An antibody blood test for melioidosis can stay positive long after a person has become ill.
- A positive antibody result does not necessarily mean the infection is still active.
- Scientists followed 142 people in Thailand who had been in hospital with the infection.

## Why it matters

Clinicians may misread a positive antibody result as evidence of current infection, so the test alone may not show whether melioidosis is still active.

## Coverage

- [Blood tests for a deadly infection have a lingering blind spot](https://www.earth.com/science/blood-tests-for-a-deadly-infection-have-a-lingering-blind-spot/) — Earth.com, 2026-11-11

Tags: melioidosis, diagnostics, antibodies, infectious disease, thailand

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science