Editing Syphilis (section)

===Direct testing===
[[Dark field microscopy]] of [[serous fluid]] from a chancre may be used to make an immediate diagnosis.<ref name=Pri2008/> Hospitals do not always have equipment or experienced staff members, and testing must be done within 10&nbsp;minutes of acquiring the sample.<ref name=Pri2008/> Two other tests can be carried out on a sample from the chancre: [[direct fluorescent antibody]] (DFA) and [[polymerase chain reaction]] (PCR) tests.<ref name=Pri2008/> DFA uses [[antibodies]] tagged with [[fluorescein]], which attach to specific syphilis proteins, while PCR uses techniques to detect the presence of specific syphilis [[gene]]s.<ref name=Pri2008/> These tests are not as time-sensitive, as they do not require living bacteria to make the diagnosis.<ref name=Pri2008/>