Treponemal serology on Bali Island, Indonesia

As part of a multidisciplinary study of the population of Bali, Indonesia, treponemal serology was carried out on 2452 serum samples from subjects of both sexes. Sera reactive to the Treponema pallidum immobilisation test (TPI) were found in 81 (3.3%) subjects with a male prevalence of 4% and a female prevalence of 2%. All the reactive sera were from villagers. Of 1118 students sampled in various towns, none had reactive TPI tests. The prevalence of reactive sera varied greatly from one village to another; up to 50% of the sera examined were reactive. Geographical and socioeconomic analyses of the data show a strict correlation between poor socioeconomic status and high reactivity rates to the TPI test. Fifty-seven per cent of all the reactive sera originated from subjects living in two districts where yaws had recently been reported. Only three of the 1406 subjects, aged 15-29 years, had reactive sera. The reactivity rate steadily increased in the age groups 30-44, 45-59, and 60 years and over. Biological false-positive reactions occurred in 3.8% of the sera tested.