Where is Treponema pallidum most likely found?
Where is Treponema pallidum most likely found?
Endemic syphilis, caused by T pallidum subsp endemicum, is found in the desert areas of the Middle East and Central and South Africa. Transmission is through human-to-human nonsexual contact.
Why Treponema pallidum is difficult to culture?
Because it lacks the genes needed for TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.
What is unique about Treponema pallidum?
Treponema pallidum is a spirochaete bacterium with various subspecies that cause the diseases syphilis, bejel (also known as endemic syphilis), and yaws. It is transmitted only amongst humans. It is a helically coiled microorganism usually 6–15 μm long and 0.1–0.2 μm wide. T.
Is Treponema pallidum the same as syphilis?
The Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum is the etiologic agent of syphilis. Syphilis is usually transmitted sexually, but can also be passed vertically from mother to child either in utero (congenital syphilis) or perinatally during birth.
How common are false positive syphilis tests?
The patient is considered to have a newly diagnosed syphilis. If the nontreponemal test (RPR and VDRL) is positive but a treponemal (confirmatory) test (FTA-ABS or TPPA) is negative, the result is considered a false positive. About 1% to 2 % of the US population have false-positive results.
Is Treponema pallidum normal flora?
Human pathogens cause four treponematoses: syphilis (T pallidum subsp pallidum), yaws (T pallidum subsp pertenue), endemic syphilis (T pallidum subsp endemicum), and pinta (T carateum). Nonpathogenic treponemes may be part of the normal flora of the intestinal tract, the oral cavity, or the genital tract.
How long can Treponema pallidum survive outside the body?
Susceptible to UV light (120 J) 12. SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: Treponema pallidum can survive 120 hours or more in blood at 4°C (although this varies by concentration of treponemes) 14.
How do you get Treponema pallidum?
The cause of syphilis is a bacterium called Treponema pallidum. The most common way syphilis is spread is through contact with an infected person’s sore during sexual activity. The bacteria enter the body through minor cuts or abrasions in the skin or mucous membranes.
Why can you not culture syphilis?
Unlike most bacteria, the organism that causes syphilis, Treponema pallidum, cannot be cultured in the laboratory. Due to this limitation, research on T. pallidum and syphilis has not benefited from new molecular approaches that have become available in recent years.
How accurate is a syphilis test?
The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive values of the POC syphilis test were: 91.8% (95% confidence intervals 88.4% to 94.5%), 98.5% (98.2% to 98.8%), 71.0% (66.6% to 75.2%), and 99.7% (99.5% to 99.8%), respectively.
Why did I get a false-positive syphilis test?
The most common reason for a false-positive is that a person produces antibodies that “fool” the syphilis test. This may occur because the antibodies are similar to the syphilis antibody or because they interfere with chemical reactions needed to perform the test for syphilis.
