Notes from the Field : Evaluation of the Sensitivity and Specificity of a Commercially Available Rapid Syphilis Test — Escambia County, Florida, 2016

In December 2014, the Food and Drug Administration granted the first-ever Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments waiver for a rapid treponemal syphilis screening test, Syphilis Health Check (SHC) (1).SHC is a new tool for public health programs to combat increasing syphilis rates, specifically among persons without a prior syphilis infection.SHC can be performed by nonlaboratorian health care personnel and results are available in 10 minutes.In 2015, a total of 7,094 noncongenital cases of syphilis (35.8 case per 100,000) were reported to the Florida Department of Health (2).The Florida Department of Health evaluated the performance of SHC in comparison with treponemal and nontreponemal tests routinely used in its sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic in Escambia County.For this evaluation, patients seeking STD testing at the Florida Department of Health STD clinic in Escambia County during March 11-April 21, 2016, were tested for syphilis using the SHC on blood specimens obtained by fingerstick; a venous blood specimen was drawn concurrently