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The fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test is a diagnostic test for syphilis.Using antibodies specific for the Treponema pallidum species, such tests would be assumed to be more specific than non-treponemal testing such as VDRL but have been shown repeatedly to be sensitive but not specific for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
For primary syphilis, TPPA has a sensitivity of 85% to 100%, and a specificity of 98% to 100%. [2] In secondary and late-latent syphilis, TPPA has a sensitivity of 98% to 100%. [2] Antibodies against other treponemal organisms, such as the T. pallidum subspecies endemicum, pertenue, or carateum, can cause false positive
The MHA-TP is used to confirm a syphilis infection after another method tests positive for the syphilis bacteria. The MHA-TP test detects antibodies to the bacteria that cause syphilis and can be used to detect syphilis in all stages, except during the first 3 to 4 weeks. This test is not done on spinal fluid.
Syphilis (/ ˈ s ɪ f ə l ɪ s /) is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. [1] The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent or tertiary.
Treponema pallidum, formerly known as Spirochaeta pallida, is a microaerophilic, gram-negative, spirochaete bacterium with subspecies that cause the diseases syphilis, bejel (also known as endemic syphilis), and yaws. [1] It is known to be transmitted only among humans and baboons. [2]
The Wassermann test or Wassermann reaction (WR) [1] is an antibody test for syphilis, named after the bacteriologist August Paul von Wassermann, based on complement fixation. It was the first blood test for syphilis and the first in the nontreponemal test (NTT) category. Newer NTTs, such as the RPR and VDRL tests, have mostly replaced it.
The rapid plasma reagin test (RPR test or RPR titer) is a type of rapid diagnostic test that looks for non-specific antibodies in the blood of the patient that may indicate an infection by syphilis or related non-venereal treponematoses. It is one of several nontreponemal tests for syphilis (along with the Wassermann test and the VDRL test).
Tabes dorsalis is caused by demyelination by advanced syphilis infection (tertiary syphilis) when the primary infection by the causative spirochete bacterium, Treponema pallidum, is left untreated for an extended period of time (past the point of blood infection by the organism). [3]