When diagnosed and treated in its early stages, syphilis is easy to cure. The preferred treatment at all stages is penicillin, an antibiotic medication that can kill the organism that causes syphilis. If you're allergic to penicillin, your doctor may suggest another antibiotic or recommend penicillin desensitization.
Treponemal tests such as TPHA, having lower sensitivities in primary syphilis, remain positive despite treatment and give false positive results uncommonly.
| CSF abnormalities | Serum TPHA titre |
|---|
| CSF WBC count > 5/μl, n (%) | 6 (6) | 19 (39) |
| Median (IQR)a | 7 (7–7) | 20 (11–41) |
| CSF TPHA titre ≥ 1:640, n (%) | 7 (7) | 39 (80) |
| Median (IQR)a | 1:640 (1:640–1:640) | 1:2560 (1:1280–1:10,240) |
The response of the Treponema Pallidum Haemagglutination Assay (TPHA) to treatment was studied in 61 cases of early infectious syphilis. In none of the 55 cases of early syphilis in which the pre-treatment TPHA was positive did the TPHA test become consistently negative after treatment.
Tests used to confirm a syphilis infection include: Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test. This blood test checks for syphilis antibodies. A positive EIA test should be confirmed with either the VDRL or RPR tests.
The cause of syphilis is a bacterium called Treponema pallidum. The most common route of transmission is through contact with an infected person's sore during sexual activity. The bacteria enter your body through minor cuts or abrasions in your skin or mucous membranes.
You may also feel generally weak and tired. Like primary syphilis, the signs and symptoms of secondary syphilis go away on their own without treatment in 2 to 6 weeks.
A negative test result means that antibodies against Treponema Pallidum are absent indicating that the patient is not having syphilis infection. A positive test result means that antibodies against Treponema Pallidum are present indicating that the patient is having syphilis infection.
Can syphilis be cured? Yes, syphilis can be cured with the right antibiotics from your health care provider. However, treatment might not undo any damage that the infection has already done.
The Advanced Quality One Step Anti-TP (Treponema Pallidum /Syphilis) Test is a rapid, serological, immunochromatographic assay for the detection of antibodies to syphilis antigen in human whole blood, serum or plasma.
The Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (also called TPPA test) is an indirect agglutination assay used for detection and titration of antibodies against the causative agent of syphilis, Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. It also detects other treponematoses.
False-positive or inconclusive results for this assay may be seen in patients with HIV, leprosy, toxoplasmosis, or Helicobacter pylori.
Early latent syphilis is latent syphilis where infection occurred within the past 12 months. Late latent syphilis is latent syphilis where infection occurred more than 12 months ago. Latent syphilis can last for years.
The antibodies produced as a result of a syphilis infection can stay in your body even after your syphilis has been treated. This means you might always have positive results on this test.
If untreated, an infected person will progress to the latent (hidden) stage of syphilis. After the secondary-stage rash goes away, the person will not have any symptoms for a time (latent period). The latent period may be as brief as 1 year or range from 5 to 20 years.
The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of ECOTEST-RPR and DIALAB-ELISA in this study were evaluated by using Randox-TPHA as a gold standard for the diagnosis of syphilis. Thus, the sensitivity and specificity of ECOTEST-RPR for syphilis detection were 100 and 80.8%, respectively.
