page_title: Wassermann test
section_title: Uncertainty
hierarchical_section_title: Wassermann test / Uncertainty
caption_attribution_description: English: Taking a Wasserman blood test in clinic for agriculture workers. Okeechobee migratory labor camp, Belle Glade, Florida.
context_page_description: The Wassermann test or Wassermann reaction is an antibody test for syphilis, named after the bacteriologist August Paul von Wassermann, based on complement fixation. It was the first blood test for syphilis and the first in the nontreponemal test category. Newer NTTs, such as the RPR and VDRL tests, have mostly replaced it.
context_section_description: The reaction is not specific to syphilis and will produce a positive reaction to other diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, malaria, and tuberculosis. It is possible for an infected individual to produce no reaction and for a successfully treated individual to continue to produce a reaction (known as being "Wassermann fast" or "fixed").
  The Wassermann test is ineffective at identifying primary syphilis as sufficient reagin has not yet been produced from tissue destruction at this stage. Therefore, more effective methods have been a common research topic.
caption: Administration of a Wassermann test at a clinic for Florida migratory farm workers in 1941.
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