title: Syphilis seroprevalence among patients attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic in West Bengal, India.
abstract: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and is a major public health concern in  India. The trend of syphilis infection was studied in attendees aged 15-49 years in an STD clinic  in West Bengal from 2004 to 2008. Blood samples were collected from 250 consecutive patients per  year (a total of 1,250 samples over 5 years); the patients attended the STD clinic for 12 weeks  (October-December) each year, and the serostatus of syphilis was determined qualitatively with  the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test using serum samples. A quantitative VDRL test  was then performed at a dilution of 1:8 using serum samples that yielded positive results in the  qualitative VDRL test. Finally, serum samples that yielded positive results in the quantitative  VDRL test were also subjected to the Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA). The serum  samples that yielded positive results in both the tests were considered syphilis seropositive. All  seropositive serum samples from the quantitative VDRL test were also found to be positive results  in TPHA. The total seropositivity for syphilis in the STD patients was 8.2% (women, 8.9%;  men, 7.7%). Review of the data from 5 consecutive years showed a statistically significant  (χ(2) = 9.968, df = 4, P < 0.05) decrease in syphilis positivity from 10.8% (2004) to 3.6% (2008).  The results of the study also revealed that the highest seroprevalence was in the 20-24 age group  (16.3%), and the lowest seroprevalence was in the 45-49 age group (3.3%). The study indicates the  effectiveness of current interventions with a need to focus further on reducing the burden in the  20-24 age group.
authors: National AIDS Control Organization-National Reference Laboratory, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, India.
authors: Susmita
authors: S
authors: Maity
authors: Somesh Chandra
authors: SC
authors: Bhunia
authors: Subrata
authors: S
authors: Biswas
authors: Malay Kumar
authors: MK
authors: Saha
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002308:Cardiolipins / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000097:blood; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014210:Treponema pallidum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002308:Cardiolipins; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; C054448:VDRL antigen; D002784:Cholesterol