Epidemiology of syphilis in regional blood transfusion centres in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Syphilis remains a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, including Burkina Faso. However, few published data are available on the prevalence of syphilis in the population. This study had two main objectives: to determine the seroprevalence of syphilis in a cohort of 37,210 first time blood donors and to study socio-demographic factors associated with the risk of infection by Treponema pallidum. Antibodies to Treponema pallidum were screened by using Reagin Rapid Test (RPR) and confirmed by treponema pallidum haemagglutination test (TPHA). The overall seroprevalence of syphilis was 1.5% among first time blood donors and was significantly different between centers (p