Chancroid : Tests

Chancroid is diagnosed by looking at the ulcer(s) and checking for swollen lymph nodes, as well as by getting a culture from the base of the ulcers. There are no lab tests for chancroid as there are for syphilis.

Chancroid may be diagnosed and treated by urologists (urinary tract doctors for men), gynecologists (for women), and infectious disease specialists. Part of the diagnosis of chancroid involves ruling out genital herpes and syphilis because genital...

RPR (rapid plasma reagin) is a screening test for syphilis. It looks for antibodies that are present in the blood of people who have the disease. The test is similar to the venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) test.

The rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test has several useful purposes. It is used to screen asymptomatic individuals for syphilis, diagnose symptomatic infection, and monitor disease activity and response to treatment. Unlike the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test, which measures specific antibodies to the syphilis bacterium, the RPR test measures nonspecific antibodies that are produced when Treponema pallidum interacts with human tissue. These antibodies also cross-react with a purified mixture of lipids (cardiolipin, lecithin, and cholesterol), known as "reagin," which is used as the substrate in the RPR test. The RPR is a simplified version of the other nonspecific screening test for syphilis, the VDRL test. The RPR card test uses a mixture of reagin and carbon particles to which a patient's serum is added. Flocculation, or clumping, of the particles is read as a "reactive" or positive test. The test can be quantitated by examining serial dilutions of serum. A difference of two dilutions is required to demonstrate a significant difference between two tests. J UDITH E. W OLF ( SEE ALSO : Antibody, Antigen ; Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody Absorption ; Syphilis ; VDRL Test )

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum . Tests for syphilis can be either treponemal (identifying an antibody that occurs specifically in T. pallidum infection ) or nontreponemal (identifying a nonspecific antibody that is present in a variety of infectious diseases, including syphilis). Treponemal tests include the fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorbed double stain test (FTA-ABS DS) and the microhemagglutination- T. pallidum test (MHA-TP). The most common diagnostic tests used to diagnose syphilis are the nontreponemal tests called the rapid plasma reagin test (RPR) and the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test (VDRL). These two tests are both reagin flocculation tests used to verify that an antigen-antibody reaction has occurred.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are viral and bacterial infections passed from one person to another through sexual contact.

Sexually transmitted disease (STD) is a term used to describe more than 20 different infections that are transmitted through exchange of semen, blood, and other body fluids; or by direct contact with the affected body areas of people with STDs. Sexually transmitted diseases are also called venereal diseases.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are caused by a group of infectious microorganisms that are transmitted mainly through sexual activity. These agents represent a costly, burdensome global public health problem. STDs can cause harmful, often irreversible, clinical complications, including reproductive health problems, fetal and perinatal health problems, and cancer, and they are also linked in a causal chain of events to the sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Although STDs are largely preventable through behavior modification and sound primary health care, they are under-recognized and under-appreciated as a public health problem by most healthcare providers, the general public, and healthcare policy makers. In 1997, the Institute of Medicine characterized STDs as "hidden epidemics of tremendous health and economic consequence" in the United States and advocated urgent national preventive action. An estimated 333 million curable STDs occur annually worldwide. In the United States, STDs are among the most frequently reported infectious diseases nationwide. Each year an estimated 15 million new cases of STDs occur in Americans, including nearly 4 million infections in U.S. teenagers. The annual direct and indirect costs of the principal STDs, including sexually transmitted HIV infection, and their complications are estimated at $17 billion. More than twenty-five bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and yeasts are considered sexually transmissible. Bacterial STDs include those caused by Chlamydia trachomatis (chlamydia), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonorrhea), Treponema pallidum (syphilis), Haemophilus ducreyi (chancroid), and other common sexually transmitted organisms. Chlamydia and gonorrhea cause inflammatory reactions in the host. In women, these organisms can ascend into the upper reproductive tract where pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can cause irreparable damage to the reproductive organs and result in infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. In its early stages, syphilis causes painless genital ulcers and other infectious lesions. Left untreated, syphilis moves through the body in stages, damaging many organs over time. Chancroid is associated with painful genital lesions. In pregnant women, acute bacterial STDs can cause potentially fatal congenital infections or perinatal complications, such as eye and lung infections in the newborn. Effective single-dose antimicrobials can cure chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and chancroid. Viral STDs include the sexually transmitted viral infections caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection), herpes simplex virus type 2 (genital herpes), and human papillomavirus (HPV infection). Initial infections with these organisms may be asymptomatic or cause only mild symptoms. Treatable but not curable, viral STDs appear to be lifelong infections. HIV is the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Herpes causes periodic outbreaks of painful genital lesions. Some strains of HPV cause genital warts, and others are important risk factors for cervical dysplasia and invasive cervical cancer. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is another acute viral illness that can be transmitted through sexual activity. Most persons who acquire HBV infection recover and have no complications, but it can sometimes become a chronic health problem. Trichomonas vaginalis (trichomoniasis) is a common protozoal STD, and Candida species (candidiasis) are sexually transmitted yeasts. Both are frequently associated with vaginal discharge.

Viral and bacterial infections passed from one person to another through sexual contact. Adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood when profound changes occur. This period of tremendous change fulfills important developmental tasks in which the adolescent develops formal operational thought, builds cognitive decision-making skills, forms a sense of self-identity, and expresses the need for autonomy and individuation from the family. Adolescence is also a time of opportunities and risk, when many health behaviors are established. Although many of these behaviors are health-promoting, some are health-compromising, resulting in increasingly high rates of adolescent morbidity and mortality. For example, initiation of sexual intercourse and experimentation with alcohol and drugs are normative adolescent behaviors. However, these behaviors often result in negative health outcomes such as the acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including the fatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As a consequence of STDs, many adolescents experience serious health problems that often alter the course of their adult lives, including infertility, difficult pregnancy, genital and cervical cancer, neonatal transmission of infections, and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The acquisition and transmission of STDs among adolescents are influenced by complex interrelationships among sociodemographic, biologic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors. For example, many STD-related risk markers (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity) correlate with more fundamental determinants of risk status (e.g., access to health care, living in communities with high prevalence of STDs) to influence adolescents' risk for STDs. Developmental factors such as pubertal timing, self-esteem, and peer affiliation may also increase their risk of exposure to STDs. An assessment of these interrelationships are critical to preventing and controlling STDs in adolescents, yet they are poorly defined and understood. Moreover, since behavior is the common means by which STDs occur, an important first step in fighting STDs is to understand the prevalence and patterns of risk behaviors as well as the psychosocial context in which these behaviors occur.

During a physical examination, a health care provider studies a patient's body to determine the presence or absence of physical problems. A typical physical examination includes: Inspection (looking at the body; Palpation (feeling the body with hands; Auscultation (listening to sounds; Percussion (producing sounds.

Herpes viral culture of a lesion is a laboratory test to check if a skin sample is infected with the herpes simplex virus.

Chancroid is a bacterial disease that is spread only through sexual contact.