Biological false positive serological tests for syphilis in the Jamaican population

Abstract

A total of 19,067 sera were screened for biological false positive (BFP) reactivity by the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test. Sera which were reactive in the VDRL test were confirmed by the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test. BFP reactions were detected in 0.59% of the general population, 0.72% of pregnant women and 11.8% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The rate of BFP reactors among pregnant women did not differ significantly from the general population. The female to male ratio of BFP in the general population was 2:1 whilst that in the group of patients with SLE was 8:1. The overall seroprevalence of syphilis was 2.2%.