Should Pre-admission Medical Tests to Tertiary Institutions Include Screening for Syphilis?

Background: This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of syphilis among apparently healthy students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko in Ondo State of Nigeria with the view of advising the University authority to include (or otherwise) the screening for syphilis among the routine tests for pre-admission registration.

Methodology: A well-structured questionnaire was administered to assess the knowledge of volunteers about syphilis. Venous blood samples (5ml) were then collected from 1545 volunteers and screened using the Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) test. All seropositive samples were further confirmed using the Treponema pallidum Haemaglutination (TPHA) test.

Results: Ninety three per cent (93.0%) and 73.3% of the volunteers agreed that syphilis affects both sexes and are sexually transmitted respectively. A prevalence rate of 1.1% was recorded in the study with 12(70.6%) seropositive male out of the seventeen (17) seropositive cases detected. No seropositive case was detected among the control group.

Conclusion: Though the prevalence was low, for the sake of the control group who lives in the same vicinity with the volunteers and perceived increase in prevalence, it is strongly suggested that all students and newly appointed staff should be screened for Syphilis as a routine for pre-admission and pre-employment exercises.