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PMID: 4893492 Published · ppublish English Journal Article

The fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-ABS) test. Development, use and present status.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization ·Vol. 39 ·No. 6 ·1968-00-00 ·Pages 873-81

Hunter EF, Norins LC, Falcone VH, Stout GW

Abstract

For testing problem sera, the fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption test (FTA-ABS) is increasingly replacing other treponemal tests for syphilis (including the TPI test) in the USA. The authors review its development as a result of experience with other immunofluorescent techniques and discuss its advantages and disadvantages. Although it is a more sensitive indicator of past or present syphilitic infection than many other widely evaluated techniques, several aspects of the test are still not fully understood; in particular its specificity is not yet established and more information is needed on its reactivity in a variety of clinical diseases and in treponemal diseases other than syphilis. It is a relatively expensive technique in terms of technicians' time, reagents and equipment but there are grounds for hope that research now under way into automation of the procedure may improve the situation.

MeSH Terms
Absorption Fluorescent Antibody Technique Humans Syphilis Serodiagnosis Treponema pallidum/immunology
Authors & Affiliations
4 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Hunter E F
Norins L C
Falcone V H
Stout G W
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58 references, click to expand
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Article Info
Journal
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Abbr.
Bull World Health Organ
ISSN
0042-9686
Published
1968-00-00
Pages
873-81
Language
English
Region
Switzerland
NLM ID
7507052
PMCID
PMC2554583
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source PMC Full Text View journal details
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