(Medical Xpress) – As syphilis cases surge throughout the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first diagnostic at-home test to spot the bacterial disease.

“This is the first at-home, over-the-counter test to detect Treponema pallidum [syphilis] antibodies in human blood,” the FDA said in a news release. “Results from this type of test alone are not sufficient to diagnose syphilis infection and should be followed by additional testing to confirm a diagnosis of syphilis.”

There’s a pressing need for quicker diagnostics to help stop the spread of syphilis. (Read More)