Fiance tested positive for syphilis

[Love's JAA 100]

Your partner once he has tested positive for Syphilis will always test positive (even after he has been successfully treated with meds) the virus can always be detected in your body with a simple blood test in your unfortunately he will always test positive.

My advice would be to get the medical care he needs and then allow the syphilis counts in his blood work system to reduced. So when they test him yes he will test positive for Syphilis but he will then have a successful record of treatment and a subsequent blood test which shows he has responded to the meds and his syphilis is reduced and successfully treated - which means it is no longer communicable for immigration purposes.

Not sure what the time line is for successful treatment but his healthcare provider should be able to advise him.(may be a few months between the blood tests).

Also do not forget to be honest on the medical questionnaire when asked about STDs, actually tell them and when you have proof of successful treatment it shouldn't be an issue.

Sorry to hear your news, hope everything gets sorted soon.

Syphilis is caused by a bacteria, not a virus. Yes the antibodies (not the bacteria) can remain in your blood for years and thus result in a positive test result.

Might the fact that the fiance has a current STD be a red flag as far as it being a bonafide committed marriage relationship?

[GF1804 12]

Be nice these guys are worried.

Might be the USC that gave the beneficiary syphilis or could just be pre-exsisting before they even met. You are right to point it out so they can prepare for any questions. 1st priority should be to get treated and have documentation validating that fact.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Syphilis or the antibiotics to treat it won't make his X-ray look like TB unless he actually has TB will it? Therefore if he is successfully treated for the syphilis and doesn't have TB his chest x-ray should therefore be clear or am I missing something? It shouldn't affect his time span need between the medical and the interview.

That's my understanding too, syphilis or the antibiotics to treat it won't make his x-ray look like he has TB.

I was just trying to point out that if he postponed his medical for a few weeks or so to finish his syphilis treatment, and then was delayed further by the unrelated three-month TB culture, he would never get those few weeks back that he spent on the syphilis treatment. It probably would delay his visa a few extra weeks...in addition to the TB culture delay.

On the other hand, if he postponed his medical for a few weeks for syphilis treatment and his chest x-ray came up clear at his medical, he wouldn't lose any time. He'd get his visa on the current schedule.

Perhaps the real question here is whether or not St. Lukes would delay the approval of his medical if he went to an early medical while he was still going through syphilis treatment. If St. Lukes signed off on his syphilis treatment and if he had no TB culture delay, he could also stick to his current interview schedule.

Under those circumstances, I think it's likely that St. Lukes would approve his medical only after he finished his syphilis treatment. I say this because I've noticed that St. Lukes will approve the medical for those who started their TB treatment before their medical only after they finished their treatment.

@ OP...In any case, syphilis treatment should begin as soon as possible. I understand that you don't want any delay in the process and that you want to be together as soon as possible, but your partner's health is too important to be worrying about a small delay in the scheme of things.

[jerni 24]

As others have mentioned your partner should get treatment as soon as possible. He should also get re-tested to make sure the first test was not a false positive (about 18% of tests result in false positives). If a second test also shows as positive then as mentioned he'll need antibiotics. How long the treatment takes depends on the level of infection. An infection caught early (primary) can usually be cured with a single injection of a long-acting penicillin. Someone who has been infected for longer (secondary or tertiary infection) will need a longer course of penicillin (or another antibiotic if allergic to penicillin).

Unless he has or has had a body rash along with aches and pains he's probably still in the primary stage which would mean he was infected within the last 10 to 90 days.

Edited January 22, 2014 by jerni

[verysadguy 170]

My Fiance has his interview in April, about 10 weeks away. He was going to have his medical at St. Lukes in Manila the first week of February. He just did a few of the tests at a local clinic for some reassurance and tested positive for Syphilis. My questions are:

1. The disease is easily curable and treatment is simple antibiotics, but the antibodies which they test for last forever. If he proves treatment has been given, will he be OK?

2. Should he still have his physical in less than a couple weeks so we have more time to deal with issues that come up before the interview, or should he put the physical off for a few weeks and give a longer time after the treatment?

As most of you can attest, this has been a long emotional and draining journey. We just need some real answers that will help us be together as soon as possible. Thank you all so much.

This should be a huge CAUTION sign.

Any person diagnosed with an STD has a 30% chance of carrying a second STD.

Obviously, source, time of acquiring the illness etc comes in to play.

Then there is the treatment regimen, completing treatment, efficacy of treatment, contagion, and aftermath/lifetime implications.

Not to mention the stress and emotional trauma you've already gone through.

[Ontarkie 14,234]

~~Inappropriate post removed, If you cannot contribute to the thread do not post.~~

[keysjangle 145]

If you have been physically involved with your partner, you should also get tested for your own good.

Best of luck.

[TBoneTX 45,329]

*** Essentially country-specific thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the Philippines regional subforum. ***