Siemens Launches Syphilis Assay for ADVIA Centaur

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics has announced the launch of its ADVIA Centaur® Syphilis Assay1 for the detection of antibodies against Treponema pallidum, a bacterium known to cause the sexually-transmitted disease syphilis. The assay has been CE-marked for use on Siemens’ ADVIA Centaur family of high-throughput, random-access immunoassay systems.

Syphilis has been called the “great imposter” because its symptoms can mimic other infections in advanced stages2. When left untreated, syphilis can lead to serious neurological and cardiovascular complications, and cause stillbirth in pregnant women. Fortunately, detection of the presence of syphilis antibodies in patients may be used to support decisions for antibiotic therapy, detect persons at risk to spread the infection and identify those that are not aware of their infection, thus preventing late complications. Recently, a meta-analysis of 10 studies involving 41,049 women found that screening and treatment of the infection in pregnant women could reduce by more than half the number of stillbirths and perinatal deaths resulting from maternal transmission of syphilis3.

“Testing for syphilis is a simple, yet effective tool for optimising health outcomes in at-risk patients,” said Dave Hickey, Chief Executive Officer, Chemistry, Immunoassay, Automation and Diagnostics IT Business Unit, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. “Consolidating syphilis testing onto a single system addresses a critical challenge of laboratories today - to improve operational efficiency while delivering fast, accurate results that help guide clinicians in identifying and caring for patients affected by this disease.”

Siemens offers an extensive portfolio of highly automated infectious disease assays (available on the ADVIA Centaur/XP/CP and IMMULITE® 2000 XPi immunoassay systems) compatible with laboratory automation. The addition of the syphilis assay to the ADVIA Centaur menu allows further consolidation of infectious disease testing onto a single platform, helping laboratories to improve their efficiency and deliver fast, accurate results.