As no published results were available of valid evaluations of common serological reactions found amongst the various racial groups of South Africa, the serological department of the Natal Pathological Service initiated a comprehensive investigation of these reactions in the racial groups of Natal. It is hoped to publish the results in a series of papers. This paper reports the results of testi...

We hereby report a case presenting a rare form of secondary syphilis with an unusual nodular eruption accompanied by pruritus and generalized lymphadenopathy, bearing a striking resemblance to lymphoma. The histologic picture was also misleading and was compatible with lymphocytoma cutis. The diagnosis was eventually made after results of serologic tests for syphilis were found to be positive, ...

A 27-year-old black woman presented with complaints of skin lesions on the vulva, back, nipple and ear. Darkfield examination of the cxudate from the moist vulvar papules (A) revealed motile spirochetes. A VDRL was reactive at a titer of 1:1,024. A papular lesion with raised borders (annular syphilid) (B) was discovered during examination of the back. Split papules were also discovered on the n...

The tertiary stage of syphilis is nowadays extremely rare, showing predilection for the cardiovascular and nervous systems. A 57-year-old Caucasian man sought medical assistance due to back pain that evolved to paraplegia of the lower limbs. A thoracic CT scan demonstrated an important aneurysmatic lesion of the descending thoracic aorta causing erosion of the vertebral bodies and VDRL and FTA-...

In a survey of 333 pygmies in the Cameroon 4.5 percent. were found to have clinical evidence of yaws. This was also found in 10 per cent. of the inhabitants of camps in Zaire. The results of VDRL and FTA-ABS tests on a sample of the population are presented. These provide evidence of a very high incidence of treponemal disease, 80 to 90 percent. of the population showing serological evidence of...

La syphilis congénitale continue de poser un problème de santé dans les pays en voie de développement. Devenue rare dans les pays industrialisés dans les années 1990 grâce à l'avènement de la pénicillothérapie, le dépistage systématique et la prévention chez la femme enceinte, sa résurgence depuis l'année 2000 est confirmée notamment chez les homosexuels et les sujets infectés par le VIH. La tr...

Objective: The aim of this work is to estimate the prevalence of transfusion transmitted diseases in blood donors of Basrah blood bank, with special entity of AID’S, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis. Methods: A retrospective record based study involved the records of Basrah blood bank for the years 2006, 2007, and 2008. The reported results of the serological screening tests of the blood donors ...

Abstract Background Syphilis, together with other sexually transmitted infections, remains a global public health problem that is far from controlled. People deprived of liberty are vulnerable population. Control activities in prisons rely mostly on passive case detection, despite the existence affordable alternatives would allow switching to active case-finding strategies. Our objective was de...

Syphilis is an infectious disease occurring through a series of frequently overlapping stages. It can impair the cardiovascular and neurological system. In 30% of the non treated patients, syphilis develops its tertiary form. We report a case of a 46-year-old male patient admitted due to edema pulmonary and acute coronary syndrome with left bundle branch block, submitted to fibrinolytic therapy...

Two young women (aged 32 and 25 years) with systemic lupus erythematosus and heart valve lesions in association with antiphospholipid antibodies are presented. In addition to the presence of the 'lupus anticoagulant' and false positive Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) tests, both patients had high levels of IgG anticardiolipin antibodies. The first patient additionally had contracept...