| Abstrakt: |
When a scientific subject is carried to a layman it receives a layman's interpretation, and one of the layman's convictions is that the complement fixation (or Wassermann) test is all the word test implies and, when positive, proof of syphilis.On this conviction many laws have been passed, or are in the making, by which a negative Wassermann reaction is a prerequisite to matrimony. Since, however, the existence of an occasional false positive reaction is an accepted fact, it naturally follows that many disagreeable situations are in the making, and the incidence of the false positive reaction becomes a matter of increasing importance.The whole question of false positive reactions has been most guardedly treated by those who report them. The possibility of cross infection, the fear of laboratory error and perhaps respect for the apple cart of public health has resulted in so much soft pedaling that the fact |
