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Syphilis Test Gives 1 in 5 a False Positive

CDC recommends alternate test

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 12, 2011 8:05 AM CST

(Newser) – You have syphilis. OK, maybe not. That's the experience hundreds of people may have suffered thanks to inconsistencies in the dominant syphilis test, USA Today reports. Some 18% of people who tested positive since the 1980s were actually free of the disease, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends a second testing method—but doesn't have nationwide figures for how prevalent the faulty method is.

The dominant syphilis test is finding syphilis where there is none.
The dominant syphilis test is finding syphilis where there is none.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
flapstick
Feb 13, 2011 3:16 PM CST
i knew it! And my wife thought i was sleeping around
beckjr2000
Feb 12, 2011 11:50 AM CST
How can our Government allow a diagnostic test to be marketed with this false positive rate? These test kits have to be tested and approved by our Government before they can be sold to medical professionals!
sallythedoctor
Feb 12, 2011 9:31 AM CST
HIV is the same way. If you get a positive test, you should always get retested. False positives are scarily common.
 

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