Spirochetes in Body Fluids and Tissues

In the 1960's, it was demonstrated that Treponema pallidum can persist in the lymph nodes of patients with penicillin-treated late syphilis, and that the organism can be found in aqueous humor and spinal fluid in cases of late seronegative lues as well. Research in this field obviously requires acceptable standard methods. Following a workshop on the subject held at the Center for Disease Control in 1969, a six-member committee consisting of microbiologists, serologists, and ophthalmolgists was appointed to recommend: (a) standardized procedures for experimental treponematoses; (b) standard diagnostic methods for the demonstration of T. pallidum in the eye, spinal fluid, and tissues; and (c) guidelines for the interpretation of serologic tests for syphilis (STS) in man and experimental animals. The authors (J. N. Miller, V. H. Falcone, B. Golden, C. W. Israel, U. S. G. Kuhn, and R. M. Smibert) have fulfilled their task admirably well. The book is a valuable help not only to those working with experimental T. pallidum infections but also for those interested in interpretation and limitations of STS and in the demonstration of T. pallidum in tissues. Reference laboratories and companies supplying reagents are listed as well. The book fills a need at a time when syphilitic infections are again becoming a major concern in research and practical medicine.