Diagnosis of syphilis
DR. Ben Musunga of AfriMedek Lab, Mbale says syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochete treponema pallidum.
DR. Ben Musunga of AfriMedek Lab, Mbale says syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochete treponema pallidum.
Physicians should understand its presentations, stage-specific diagnostic testing and appropriate antibiotic treatments.
If inappropriately treated, it can result into cardiovascular and neurologic diseases and congenital syphilis.
Below are some tests that can be carried out:
Dark Field Microscopy
It is the most specific technique for diagnosing syphilis when the ulcer/sore is present.
In preparation, the lesion got from the sore is cleansed and then pressed gently with a gauze pad. It is then collected on a glass slide and examined under a microscope equipped with a dark-field condenser.
This is the most common test performed for syphilis in Uganda. Other tests are rare and expensive. They include:
Non-treponemal test
A syphilitic infection leads to the production of non-specific antibodies that react to cardiolipin. It gives false positives or negatives, especially when the victims are pregnant, or have autoimmune disorders.
Treponemal specific tests. These detect antibodies to antigenic components of treponema pallidum. These tests confirm the diagnosis of syphilis in patients with a reactive non-treponemal test.