Infectious Diseases
If you or your doctor suspect that you have an infectious disease, getting the proper test is an important step in diagnosing and successfully treating the illness.
This test is used for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Laboratory findings demonstrating evidence of communicable disease must be reported to the Bureau of Disease Intervention of the Indiana State Department of Health. Reports may also be given to the local health officer.
Test Description: Testing for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae is typically done at the same time because the symptoms are similar. The nucleic acid amplification that is used with the urine test, amplifies the DNA present in the urine to determine whether the sexually transmitted disease is present.
The patient should not have urinated for at least one hour prior to having the test completed.
Used as an aid in the determination of susceptibility to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection for individuals prior to or following hepatitis B vaccination, or where vaccination status is unknown.
Test Description: This test is used in conjunction with other serological and clinical information for the diagnosis of individuals with acute or chronic hepatitis B.
This test is used to detect whether or not the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is present in the patient. Laboratory findings demonstrating evidence of communicable disease must be reported to the Bureau of Disease Intervention of the Indiana State Department of Health. Reports may also be given to the local health officer.
Test description: Hepatitis C is a small, single-stranded RNA virus. Infections are typically asymptomatic. For patients who develop acute hepatitis, the symptoms are generally milder than in acute infection with HAV or HBV. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies are generally non-protective, but serve as markers of chronic infection.
The hepatitis C antibody screen is recommended for people who were born between 1945 and 1965. Recommendations also include testing for people in the following risk groups:
- Patients who may have been around contaminated equipment when receiving a tattoo or body piercing
- Children who have mothers who have HCV, because they could have contracted it during childbirth
- Healthcare providers who may have come in contact with blood from a patient who has HCV
- Anyone who has had unprotected sexual activity
This test is used to confirm the presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS. Laboratory findings demonstrating evidence of communicable disease must be reported to the Bureau of Disease Intervention of the Indiana State Department of Health. Reports may also be given to the local health officer.
Test Description: The HIV assay is intended to be used as an aid in the diagnosis of HIV-1/HIV-2 infection. Positive antibody tests will be confirmed by second method at no additional cost. Early detection and treatment of HIV infection can decrease the risk of progression to AIDS and greatly improve long-term health and survival.
The purpose of this test is to aid in the diagnosis of syphilis. Laboratory findings demonstrating evidence of communicable disease must be reported to the Bureau of Disease Intervention of the Indiana State Department of Health. Reports may also be given to the local health officer.
Test Description: Syphilis is a disease, usually sexually transmitted, caused by infection with the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum. Congenital transmission of Treponema pallidum by transplacental passage from an infected mother, and contagion through blood transfusions have been also reported in the literature. Infection is systemic from the outset and the disease is characterized by periods of latency, often in excess of 20 years. The natural course of Syphilis is divided into three phases. After an incubation period lasting about three weeks, a non-painful skin lesion (chancre) appears, often associated with regional lymphadenopathy (primary phage). The disease progresses into a secondary, disseminated phase, accompanied by general mucocutaneous lesions and lymphadenopathy. If a Treponema pallidum infections progresses into the late phase of the disease, the secondary phase is followed by a period of subclinical infection (latent syphilis) that can be detected only by serological tests, and by a late or tertiary phase, observed only in a small number of patients, characterized by progressive disease.
This test is recommended for patients with blisters and ulcers over genitalia, multiple sexual partners, or abnormal genital discharge.