Volume 18, Number 6—June 2012
Dispatch
Local Transmission of Imported Endemic Syphilis, Canada, 2011
Table 1
Serologic testing results for Treponema pallidum subspecies endemicum and clinical findings for a symptomatic patient and family members, Canada, 2011*
Family member† | Age, y/sex | VDRL result | TPPA result | Clinical findings | Molecular detection/PCR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parent | 40/F | Negative | Negative | None | ND |
Parent | 49/M | Negative | ND | None | ND |
Child | 1/F | 1:32 | 4+‡ | Skin papules, perianal condylomata | –§ |
Child | 3/M | 1:32 | 4+ | Oral ulcer, hoarse voice, drooling, adenopathy | +¶ |
Child | 5/F | Weakly reactive | 4+ | None | ND |
Child | 7/F | 1:2 | 4+ | None | ND |
Child | 10/F | 1:8 | 4+ | None | ND |
Child | 11/M | 1:4 | 4+ | None | ND |
Child | 14/M | 1:16 | 4+ | None | ND |
Child | 16/F | Weakly reactive | 4+ | None | ND |
Child | 19/F | 1:16 | 4+ | None | ND |
*VDRL, Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test; TPPA, T. pallidum particle agglutination assay; ND, not done.
†All family members received intramuscular benzathine penicillin (1.2 million U if >10 y old, 0.6 million U if <10 y old) after confirmatory PCR results for the 3-year-old child.
‡Positive reactions were measured on a scale of 1–4, with 4 as the highest value.
§Oral swab specimen. Child had history of oral ulcer but had received a full course of azithromycin followed by oral lesion resolution before PCR was performed. She was born in Canada, had no travel history, and although the PCR result was negative, the test was performed after the patient received treatment. The patient had positive serologic test results for T. pallidum, a history of lesions characteristic of endemic syphilis, and no other plausible explanation for findings.
¶Oral ulcer swab specimen.