Syphilis

This report summarizes data on early syphilis cases reported as of May 31, 2010, in Los Angeles County, California.

This report provides a summary of responses from a web-based survey of public health laboratories on volume and type of testing for STDs in the United States in 2007. The survey was conducted in 2008. Responses were received from 61.4 percent (94 of 153) participants. In 2007, 3,290,390 chlamydia tests and 3,157,827 gonorrhea tests were performed in the surveyed laboratories; 89.7 percent of chlamydia tests and 84.4 percent of gonorrhea tests were nucleic acid amplification tests. Over 90 percent of responders reported syphilis testing.

This pamphlet provides information about the STD syphilis. It lists basic facts about the disease and discusses transmission, symptoms for men and women, testing, and treatment. The pamphlet explains that recent sex partners should be notified, as they would need to be tested for the disease and treated if infected. Syphilis can be cured with antibiotic treatment, but an individual can be reinfected.

This report describes tests of an analysis of data from five laboratories that used reverse sequence screening during 2006-2010 to identify persons with possible untreated syphilis. Three sites served patient populations with low prevalence of syphilis, and two sites served patient population with high prevalence. The results indicated that among sera reactive on initial screening with an automatable treponemal enzyme and chemiluminescence immunoassays (EIA/CIA), 56.7 percent had a nonreactive rapid plasma regain (RPR) test.