Syphilitic

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis. Other human diseases caused by related Treponema pallidum include yaws (subspecies pertenue), pinta (subspecies carateum), and bejel (subspecies endemicum).

Signs and symptoms

Syphilis can present in one of four different stages: primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary, and can also occur congenitally. It was referred to as "the great imitator" due to its varied presentations.

Primary

Primary syphilis is typically acquired by direct sexual contact with the infectious lesions of another person. Approximately 3 to 90 days after the initial exposure (average 21 days), a skin lesion, called a chancre, appears at the point of contact.

Secondary

Secondary syphilis occurs approximately four to ten weeks after the primary infection. While secondary disease is known for the many different ways it can manifest, symptoms most commonly involve the skin, mucous membranes, and lymph nodes.

Latent

Latent syphilis is defined as having serologic proof of infection without symptoms of disease. It is further described as early (less than 1 year after secondary syphilis) or late (more than 1 year after secondary syphilis or latent syphilis of unknown duration).

Tertiary

Tertiary syphilis may occur approximately 3 to 15 years after the initial infection, and may be divided into three different forms: gummatous syphilis (15%), late neurosyphilis (6.5%), and cardiovascular syphilis (10%).

Prevention

Syphilis is preventable with safe sex practices, including correct and consistent condom use and sexual contact only within a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.

Treatment

The first-line treatment for syphilis is the administration of penicillin, a type of antibiotic.

See also

• History of syphilis
• Tuskegee syphilis experiment
• Congenital syphilis
• Neurosyphilis

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