[The use of immunoenzyme analysis for recording specific IgM antibodies in syphilis patients]

Specific IgM antibodies were assayed in blood sera of 230 patients with various forms of syphilis and of 561 controls. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) sensitivity has made up 95.8 percent for primary syphilis, 93.8 percent for secondary new, 78.3 percent for secondary recurrent, 35.4 percent for early latent, 37.5 percent for late latent, and 80 percent for unknown syphilis. False-positive reactions were recorded in 5.5 percent of cases and were as a rule seen in the sera from patients with diffuse diseases of connective tissue. IgM EIA has proved highly effective in testing the sera from patients with primary seronegative syphilis and from subjects who had sexual intercourse with patients suffering from contagious forms of syphilis.