Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that remains a global health threat. Syphilis rates in the United States have also been increasing. Left untreated, syphilis infection can span decades and have serious complications including blindness, dementia and paralysis. Syphilis in pregnancy causes prematurity, low birthweight, neonatal death, and infections in newborns. Improvements in syphilis detection are needed to facilitate early diagnosis of active infections and monitor treatment with antibiotics.

Researchers at the CDC have developed a rapid, serological test that detects active syphilis infections. The test is an immunoassay (e.g., enzyme immunoassay (EIA), Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TPPA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), lateral flow device, dipstick or flow-through device) that uses modified cardiolipin, a lipoidal entity thought to be released from host cells and/or Treponema pallidum (bacterial) cells that are damaged over the course of infection, as an antigen to detect anti-cardiolipin antibodies in blood samples. CDC’s technology offers a method of quantitatively or qualitatively detecting active syphilis infections and other autoimmune diseases such as lupus.