Hi! I have the following question.
Is a negative VDRL blood test for syphilis after 2 years and 1 month of possible infection absolutely reliable?
I mean, is there any chance that the result is false negative?
Should I do anything else, or forget it and relax?
I know that VDRL test screens for antibodies made by organism in order to confront Treponema Pallidum and that 2 years are too much time for the body to develop antibodies.
However, my real concern is what I read at the following site:
[url]http://adam.about.com/encyclopedia/00
3515.htm?terms=false+positive+for+syphilis
[/url]
''in the final stages (tertiary syphilis) this test is usually positive in only 60% of cases''.
I wonder if I am in the final stage without knowing it and if I am among these 40% of cases where the result is false negative, how could I find out safely if I have syphilis or not?
Thank you for your help!