Both the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTS-ABS) test and Venereal Disease Laboratory (VDRL) test for syphilis were performed routinely on 113 men with histories of genital ulcerations. The difference in negative VDRL and borderline FTS-ABS results between patients with and without herpes simplex virus in their genital ulcers and no evidence of previous or untreated syphilis was no...

background : people with sexually transmitted infections (stis) constitute the high-risk group for transmission of hiv. the present study was planned to estimate the prevalence of hiv and syphilis in patients attending sti clinic and to assess the socio-demographic determinants of the study subjects. methods : a cross sectional descriptive study of three-month duration was undertaken from janua...

A small study comparing results of the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) teardrop card test performed in the field, with results of Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) tests performed in the laboratory on venous blood specimens from the same suspected yaws patients was undertaken in Columbia in July 1975. The results suggest that the RPR ...

INTRODUCTION Although control measures of maternal and congenital syphilis are available in Brazil, difficulties exist within the healthcare network in providing a laboratory diagnosis of the infection during the prenatal period. The objective of this study was to confirm the presence of Treponema pallidum by PCR in women with positive VDRL serology and lethal pregnancy outcomes, i.e., abortion...

BACKGROUND IgG antibodies from mothers adequately treated for syphilis can cross the placenta and appear in the sera of healthy newborns without infection. In such infants, a false diagnosis of congenital syphilis is often made. We have designed a retrospective survey to determine the time of seroreversion of the serological tests for syphilis (STS) in uninfected newborns born to mothers who we...

During the past few decades many flocculation tests have been developed for use in the serological diagnosis of syphilis. Of these the one most widely used at the present time is the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, described by Harris, Rosenberg, and Riedel (1946) and Harris, Rosenberg, and Del Vecchio (1948) and named after the laboratory in which it was developed. The VDRL t...

Transfusion transmitted infections are major problem associated with blood transfusion. Accurate estimates of risk of TTIs are essential for monitoring the safety of blood supply and evaluating the efficacy of currently employed screening procedures. The present study was carried out to assess the percentage of voluntary donors and replacement donors and to find out prevalence and changing tren...

OBJECTIVE To determine factors associated with HIV infection in blood donor candidates in Recife, Brazil. METHODS A transversal study was performed of 106,203 blood donor candidates found eligible by the routine clinical screening process in the blood bank in Recife of the Fundação de Hematologia e Hemoterapia de Pernambuco (HEMOPE) in the period from January 1998 to November 2003. Additional...