ROUTINE SCREENING FOR SYPHILIS: IS IT TIME FOR RECONSIDERATION?

Authors

  • Hamidreza Mahboobi 1: Assistant Professor, Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran 2: Resident of Internal Medicine, Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

Keywords:

Syphilis, Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL), Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR), Screening

Abstract

Abstract

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease which is caused by Treponema pallidum. Its prevalence is higher in Africa, South-East Asia, and Western Pacific region. But in Iran, its prevalence is low and several epidemiological studies have reported no case of syphilis during routine screening programs. Also, we know from unpublished data that we have had no cases of syphilis in Hormozgan province for at least 10 years in about 300,000 individuals screened for VDRL. Routine screening for syphilis is associated with high costs to the health system and may be unnecessary in areas with very low incidence of syphilis. However, there is insufficient evidence available for recommendation of deleting routine screening for syphilis in areas with low prevalence of the disease, but it seems that doing large observational studies in these areas can be useful for establishing local protocols for syphilis screening based on the prevalence of disease in each area. In areas with low prevalence of syphilis, we recommend screening of syphilis only in high risk individuals. 

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Published

2017-10-03

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 4 (2017): October-December 2017

Section

Articles