Since syphilis is caused by a bacteria, the way to know if someone has syphilis is to identify the bacteria that causes it, Treponema pallidum. However, this bacteria cannot be grown in a culture so other tests have to be used to identify the microbe. There are both direct and indirect ways to verify if someone is infected with T. pallidum.
Direct methods, as you might have guessed, look directly for the bacteria itself. Samples may be taken from exudate from a chancre, a histological exam of tissue from the patient, or through nucleic acid amplification.1
Indirect methods of identifying T. pallidum is through tests that could reveal antibodies known as serological tests. The first serological test that would be done is a nontreponemal test analyzing immunoglobulin G and M antibodies, which are made by a person's immune system in response to a bacteria or virus. If this test were positive, then the second serological test would be done, a treponemal test. The treponemal test detects the specific antibodies made in response to a T. pallidum infection.
Even if a person has been tested and it has been found that he/she is infected with syphilis, the test cannot verify whether the person is in the first or second stage of the disease process. This is when it is important to talk to the patient about the signs and symptoms he/she has been experiencing, which is what I will be discussing next week.
For more information on diagnosing syphilis you can read this paper from the Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology.
References:
Ratnam, S. (2005). The laboratory diagnosis of syphilis. Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, 16(1), 45-51. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2095002/
Direct methods, as you might have guessed, look directly for the bacteria itself. Samples may be taken from exudate from a chancre, a histological exam of tissue from the patient, or through nucleic acid amplification.1
Indirect methods of identifying T. pallidum is through tests that could reveal antibodies known as serological tests. The first serological test that would be done is a nontreponemal test analyzing immunoglobulin G and M antibodies, which are made by a person's immune system in response to a bacteria or virus. If this test were positive, then the second serological test would be done, a treponemal test. The treponemal test detects the specific antibodies made in response to a T. pallidum infection.
Even if a person has been tested and it has been found that he/she is infected with syphilis, the test cannot verify whether the person is in the first or second stage of the disease process. This is when it is important to talk to the patient about the signs and symptoms he/she has been experiencing, which is what I will be discussing next week.
For more information on diagnosing syphilis you can read this paper from the Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology.
Ratnam, S. (2005). The laboratory diagnosis of syphilis. Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, 16(1), 45-51. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2095002/
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