This article is part of the network’s archive of useful research information. This article is closed to new comments due to inactivity. We welcome new content which can be done by submitting an article for review or take part in discussions in an open topic or submit a blog post to take your discussions online.
This Rapid Syphilis Test Toolkit provides a framework and series of tools for the introduction of rapid syphilis tests into country programmes. It was developed at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to determine the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of different strategies for the introduction of rapid syphilis tests in seven countries.
The tools were adapted, piloted and refined by the seven country partners: Fundacao Alfredo da Matta in Manaus, Brazil; the National Center for Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Center for Disease Control, Nanjing, China; Le Groupe Haïtien d’Etude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes in Port au Prince, Haiti; Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru; the National Institute for Medical Research, Mwanza, Tanzania; Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation in Kampala, Uganda and in Lusaka, Zambia, with the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia.
Our project has shown that rapid tests can increase access to syphilis screening in areas not served by laboratories; strengthen health systems by providing more rapid client-friendly services, and enable women to prevent adverse outcomes of pregnancy.
We hope that the extensive experience on which this Rapid Syphilis Test Toolkit is based will provide useful guidance to countries on the planning, management and implementation of programmes for screening prenatal and high risk populations for syphilis with the new rapid tests.
If you have any feedback or comments on the Rapid Syphilis Test Toolkit, please contact us at admin@globalhealthdiagnostics.org