Diagnosis of syphilis, syphilis test

Condition analysis:
A blood test is the most common way to determine if someone has syphilis. Shortly after infection, the body produces syphilis antibodies that can be detected by an accurate, safe, and inexpensive blood test.

Some health care providers can diagnose syphilis by examining material from a syphilis sore using a special microscope called a dark-field microscope. If syphilis bacteria are present in the sore, they will show up when observed through the microscope.

Special note: Because untreated syphilis in a pregnant woman can infect and kill her developing baby, every pregnant woman should receive prenatal care and be tested for syphilis during pregnancy and at delivery.

Instructions:
Latent syphilis:
If untreated, syphilis may lapse into a latent stage during which the disease is no longer contagious and no symptoms are present. Many people who are not treated will suffer from no further signs and symptoms of the disease.

Tertiary syphilis:
Approximately one-third of people who have had secondary syphilis go on to develop the complications of late, or tertiary, syphilis, in which the bacteria damage the heart, eyes, brain, nervous system, bones, joints, or almost any other part of the body. This stage can last for years, or even for decades. Late syphilis can result in mental illness, blindness, other neurologic problems, heart disease, and death.