Syphilis Antibodies:
Why Syphilis Antibody Test?
CLINICAL INFORMATION
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and hence VDRL (Veneral Disease Research Laboratory) testing is necessary. Syphilis is caused by the spirochete bacterium called Treponema pallidum. This infection is a highly contagious disease and usually spreads by sexual contact. Initially, it manifests as (primary syphilis) a painless sore (also referred to as ‘Chancre’ manifests as a rash in the trunk region but spreads throughout the body including the palms and soles) in the skin or mucous membranes typically in the mouth, genitals and rectum. It may be self-limiting in many cases and usually remain inactive for decades. When ignored these symptoms develop and manifest further as secondary syphilis, tertiary or late syphilis. When it becomes active (re-activation: secondary syphilis – manifestations are non-itchy wart-like sores in the mouth or around the genital area, muscle ache, fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes etc) and in the latent stages (tertiary stages – manifests dissemination with a widespread capacity and shows multi-organ involvement) it manifests with more virulence and impacts many organ/organ system(s) like a heart (swelling of aorta, damage in heart valves etc), eyes, liver, bone, joints, nerves and brain (neurosyphilis – can manifest with seizures) etc and therefore can become life-threatening as well. Manifestations of chronic syphilis include saddle nose (nose-bridge collapse) with nasal septal disfigurement, deafness, teeth deformities etc and its symptoms include headache, stroke, meningitis, dementia, loss of pain and temperature sensations, bladder incontinence, sexual dysfunction in men etc. Syphilis can also be transmitted by vertical transmission from pregnant women to unborn children (congenital syphilis). Subsequently, after the initial screening (for Treponema pallidum) is performed, the positive cases are further confirmed by ELISA (by the detection of syphilis or Treponema pallidum antigen and/or screening for the presence of antibodies against syphilis or Treponema pallidum antigen), FTA-ABS, RPR (Rapid Plasma Reagin) test for the presence of true infection. The Syphilis antibody test also reveals the chronology of infection. IgM antibodies in the body confirm the recent infection and the sero-conversion to IgG antibodies reflects either chronic (latent) infection or reactivation of syphilis. Additional/Other tests include serological tests – Non-treponemal tests, treponemal tests, rapid serological tests, Direct Methods for diagnosis, Rapid Immuno-Chromatographic tests, Testing for Neurosyphilis (CNS manifestations confirmed in the CSF sample specimen), rapid plasma regain (RPR test), TPPA agglutination assay, PCR etc. Other tests include Darkfield microscopy, enzyme immunoassay, micro-hemagglutination assay etc.
General Instructions:
Sample Requirement: Specimen - Blood sample collected from the vein. Test Preparation: None.
NOTE - Sample for specimen collections may vary based on the patient’s condition/cases according to the patient’s presenting complaints/signs or symptoms:
SPECIMEN REQUIREMENT (Special or Rare Cases) - As instructed and guided by Physician / Clinician / Pathologist / as per Laboratory’s requirements, according to procedures and protocols.
This Multi-Specialty Clinical Referral Laboratory RT DIAGNOSTICS provides precise and accurate tests with an extensive range of testing services to the medical centres to help in the diagnosis and identification of pathology in the test specimens for infectious diseases and also to evaluate the function of organ systems of the patient. It prevents further complications and helps to stabilize and restore health to near normalcy at the earliest without delay.
