Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar;31(4):359-363.
doi: 10.1177/0956462420906762. Epub 2020 Feb 19.

Estimating syphilis seroprevalence among patients in a sexually transmitted infections clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi

Jane S Chen  1 , Mitch Matoga  2 , Shiraz Khan  2 , Edward Jere  2 , Cecilia Massa  2 , Beatrice Ndalama  2 , Arlene C Seña  3 , Kathryn E Lancaster  4 , Mina C Hosseinipour  3 , Myron S Cohen  3 , William C Miller  1   4 , Irving F Hoffman  3
Affiliations

Estimating syphilis seroprevalence among patients in a sexually transmitted infections clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi

Jane S Chen et al. Int J STD AIDS. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

The syndromic management of genital ulcer disease (GUD) misses asymptomatic syphilis cases but is widely utilized in limited resource settings without diagnostic capabilities, to ensure treatment for the most common etiologies of GUD. We used rapid serology tests for syphilis screening at a Malawian sexually transmitted infections clinic. The estimated seroprevalence was 9% and was highest among patients with genital ulcers (26%) and newly diagnosed HIV infection (19%). Rapid syphilis screening has the potential to increase syphilis detection, but accurate patient histories regarding syphilis diagnosis and prior treatment are needed.

Keywords: Africa; Syphilis (Treponema pallidum); diagnosis; screening.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting of Interests:

ACS receives research funding from Gilead Sciences Inc. and consultant fees from Hologic, Inc. MSC receives honoraria for advisory board membership from Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. and Gilead Sciences, Inc. No other conflicts of interest were declared.

References

    1. Ministry of Health M. Malawi Guidelines for Syndromic Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections. 2017.
    1. World Health Organization. Guidelines for the Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections. 2003.
    1. Behets FM, Liomba G, Lule G, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases and human immunodeficiency virus control in Malawi: a field study of genital ulcer disease. J Infect Dis. 1995; 171: 451–5. - PubMed
    1. Hoyo C, Hoffman I, Moser BK, et al. Improving the accuracy of syndromic diagnosis of genital ulcer disease in Malawi. Sex Transm Dis. 2005; 32: 231–7. - PubMed
    1. Phiri S, Zadrozny S, Weiss HA, et al. Etiology of genital ulcer disease and association with HIV infection in Malawi. Sex Transm Dis. 2013; 40: 923–8. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources