FTA is a test associated with which disease?

• A. HIV
• B. Malaria
• C. Syphilis
• D. Hepatitis C

Answer: (C)

FTA is a diagnostic test that detects antibodies to Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis. In practice, it serves as a confirmatory treponemal test after an initial non-treponemal screen (which can yield false positives or negatives). A positive FTA result indicates exposure to the bacterium, meaning current or past infection with syphilis. Treponemal tests like FTA are highly specific and tend to remain positive for life, which is why they’re used to confirm syphilis rather than to gauge treatment response. That’s why this test is associated with syphilis, not the other diseases listed.