Blood being tested for syphilis, Haiti, 2008
Healthcare professional drawing a patient's blood before testing it for syphilis using a lateral flow assay, which shows a negative result. The blood moves up the paper strip which has two lines of proteins attached, one control line and one test line. The test proteins will bind to proteins found only in the blood of someone who has syphilis. The control antibodies should always bind to proteins found naturally in blood, forming a visible red line which indicates that the test is functional. If the blood binds to the test proteins, causing two red lines to appear, it indicates that the patient has syphilis. Filmed in Haiti in 2008.