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The most common blood test for syphilis was the Wassermann test, developed in 1906 by August von Wassermann, though results of the alternative Kahn test were also usually accepted. [1] If a partner tested positive, they would generally be required to undergo a course of treatment until a doctor was satisfied that the infection was resolved.
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.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-approved standard tests include the VDRL test (a slide test), the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test (a card test), the unheated serum reagin (USR) test, and the toluidine red unheated serum test (TRUST). [2] These have mostly replaced the first nontreponemal test, the Wassermann test. [citation needed]
With syphilis cases in U.S. newborns skyrocketing, a doctors group now recommends that all pregnant patients be screened three times for the sexually transmitted infection. The American College of ...
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The VDRL is a nontreponemal serological screening for syphilis that is also used to assess response to therapy, to detect central nervous system involvement, and as an aid in the diagnosis of congenital syphilis. The basis of the test is that an antibody produced by a patient with syphilis reacts with an extract of ox heart (diphosphatidyl ...
With the mass production of penicillin from 1943, syphilis could be cured. Syphilis screening was introduced for every pregnancy. Contact tracing was also introduced. [86] By 1956, congenital syphilis had been almost eliminated, and female cases of acquired syphilis had been reduced to a hundredth of their level just 10 years previously. [87]
Congenital syphilis in the newborn can be prevented by screening mothers during early pregnancy and treating those who are infected. [50] The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) strongly recommends universal screening of all pregnant women, [ 51 ] while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends all women be tested at ...