title: Importance of extending the use of polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of venereal syphilis in a blood transfusion center in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Due to the existence of a variety of types of non-venereal syphilis caused by the related T. pallidum, regular serological testing such as Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) and Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay Technique (CMIA) are often unable to differentiate venereal syphilis from the non- venereal one, hence, the interest in the use of molecular biology testing for a confirmation diagnosis of syphilis caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The study is designed to assess the effectiveness of PCR testing and serological methods in the diagnosis of Treponema pallidum subsp pallidum among blood donors in Burkina Faso.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 6375 samples of volunteer blood donors from the regional blood transfusion center of Ouagadougou (CRTS/O). Among samples, 183 positive and 59 negative in RPR were analyzed to detect antibodies anti-T. pallidum subsp pallidum with a immunoassay method (CMIA) and were confirmed using the Polymerase Chain Reaction testing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In RPR, we obtained a prevalence rate of 2.9% (183/6375) for treponematosis. From the 183 RPR+ specimen, 108 (59%) were found CMIA+ and 11 (6%) were confirmed PCR+. While the 59 pattern RPR-; 31 (52.5%) were CMIA + including 3 (5.1%) tested PCR+. Seventy-five (75) samples RPR + /CMIA-; 2 (2.7%) were confirmed positive by PCR. All 28 samples RPR-/CMIA- were confirmed negative by PCR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCR testing confirmed a low distribution of T. pallidum subsp pallidum in comparison to serological methods. Cross-reactions, existence of non-venereal treponemal or immunological scars could account for the discrepancy between the results obtained.
authors.affiliation: Pietro Annigoni Biomolecular Research Center (CERBA)/ (LABIOGENE), University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso ; National Blood Transfusion Center, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Abibou
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simpore
authors.affiliation: Pietro Annigoni Biomolecular Research Center (CERBA)/ (LABIOGENE), University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso ; Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology (LABMC), University of Sciences and Techniques of Masuku (USTM), Franceville, Gabon.
authors.forename: Cyrille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bisseye
authors.affiliation: Pietro Annigoni Biomolecular Research Center (CERBA)/ (LABIOGENE), University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso ; Endicott College, College of Arts and Sciences, Beverly, USA.
authors.forename: Bolni Marius
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Nagalo
authors.affiliation: Healthcare Unit Training, (UFR-SDS), University of Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Mahamoudou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanou
authors.affiliation: National Blood Transfusion Center, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Yacoub
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nébié
authors.affiliation: Pietro Annigoni Biomolecular Research Center (CERBA)/ (LABIOGENE), University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Laure Stella
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Ghoma-Linguissi
authors.affiliation: National Blood Transfusion Center, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Honorine
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dahourou
authors.affiliation: Marlboro College, Vermont, USA.
authors.forename: Boukary
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sawadogo
authors.affiliation: Pietro Annigoni Biomolecular Research Center (CERBA)/ (LABIOGENE), University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Florencia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Djigma
authors.affiliation: National Blood Transfusion Center, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Siaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ouattara
authors.affiliation: Pietro Annigoni Biomolecular Research Center (CERBA)/ (LABIOGENE), University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Virginio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pietra
authors.affiliation: Endicott College, College of Arts and Sciences, Beverly, USA.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nichol
authors.affiliation: Pietro Annigoni Biomolecular Research Center (CERBA)/ (LABIOGENE), University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simpore
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D002050:Burkina Faso / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D013587:Syphilis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D013588:Syphilis Serodiagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D014210:Treponema pallidum / Q000302:isolation & purification; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: CMIA; PCR; RPR; Treponema pallidum; diagnosis