These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Prevalence of reactive serological tests for syphilis in the Jamaican population.
    Author: Smikle MF, James O, Prabhakar P.
    Journal: West Indian Med J; 1990 Sep; 39(3):170-3. PubMed ID: 2264331.
    Abstract:
    Serological tests for syphilis (STS) were performed on sera from 15,876 members of the general adult population, 3,039 pregnant women and 1,029 children, in order to assess the prevalence and value of reactive STS in Jamaicans; 2.7% of sera from the general adult population, 4.7% from pregnant women and 2.2% from children were reactive in the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test. Reactive Fluorescent Treponemal Absorption (FTA-ABS) tests occurred in significantly higher frequency in pregnant women (4%) than in the general population (2.2%; p less than 0.001). The prevalence of reactive STS in children did not differ significantly from that of the general adult population. The predictive value of a reactive VDRL test in pregnant women (85%) was higher than that of the general population (79%). These results suggest that adequate screening with the inexpensive VDRL test would enable the early detection and treatment of syphilis, and could prevent increasing incidence of congenital syphilis in Jamaica. 15,876 adult Jamaicans, 1029 children, and 3039 pregnant women were screened with the VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) test, and positives confirmed by the Fluorescent Treponemal Absorption (FTA-ABS) test to determine the prevalence of syphilis. The adults were being examined for emigration visas, the women attending prenatal care, and the children were tested at the University Hospital of the West Indies. 2.7% of the adults, 2.2% of the children and 4.7% of the pregnant women had positive VDRL slide tests. The prevalence of confirmed FTA-ABS tests, done on sera with titers over 1:8, was 1.8% of the adults, 2.2% of the children and 1.6% of the pregnant women. The prevalence of treponemal disease, was estimated at 2.2% of adults, 2.2% of children, and 4.0% of pregnant women. 86% of the adults had VDRL titers below 1:4, suggestive of treated, of latent syphilis, or biological false positives. 21 of the 23 syphilitic children had congenital syphilis; 18 of these were early onset, before 18 months, as judged by the FTA-IgM test. These results placed Jamaica midway between developing and developed countries in syphilis prevalence.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]