OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:23 PM – Sunday, August 18, 2024
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have given the green light to the first at-home syphilis test amid a rise of cases in the U.S.
Dr. Michelle Tarver, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health released an announcement regarding the tests.
“Access to home tests may help increase initial screening for syphilis, including in individuals who may be reluctant to see their health care provider about possible sexually transmitted infection exposure,” she said. “This can lead to increased lab testing to confirm diagnosis, which can result in increased treatment and reduction in the spread of infection.”
The test, which detects syphilis antibodies in human blood, will provide a result within 15 minutes of taking it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of syphilis cases increased by 80% between 2021 and 2022.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that among adults 19 to 45-years-old, the number of syphilis cases has increased by over a million worldwide, with positive cases peaking in Africa and the Americas.
If left untreated, the treatable sexually transmitted infection syphilis can lead to major health issues, such as brain and cardiac damage that can result in blindness and paralysis.
Additionally, the infection can pass from mother to child while a woman is pregnant, increasing the risk of miscarriage, chronic health problems, and infant death.
The CDC reported that the number of cases involving expectant mothers in the United States tripled between 2016 and 2022. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released new guidelines after the study, advising expecting mothers to get screened for syphilis three times during their pregnancy.
The FDA suggests that in order to confirm the diagnosis of syphilis, further testing with a medical professional should be conducted after taking the new test.
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