What is syphilis?
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum.
How common is syphilis?
In the United States, health officials reported over 36,000 cases of syphilis in 2006, including 9,756 cases of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis. Reported cases of congenital syphilis in newborns increased from 2005 to 2006, with 339 new cases reported in 2005 compared to 349 cases in 2006.
Between 2005 and 2006, the number of reported P&S syphilis cases increased 11.8 percent.
How do people get syphilis?
Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore.
Primary Stage
The primary stage of syphilis is usually marked by the appearance of a single sore (called a chancre), but there may be multiple sores. It appears at the spot where syphilis entered the body.
Secondary Stage
Skin rash and mucous membrane lesions characterize the secondary stage. Sometimes rashes associated with secondary syphilis are so faint that they are not noticed.
Late and Latent Stages
The latent (hidden) stage of syphilis begins when primary and secondary symptoms disappear. The late stages of syphilis can develop in about 15% of people who have not been treated for syphilis, and can appear 10–20 years after infection was first acquired.
How does syphilis affect a pregnant woman and her baby?
The syphilis bacterium can infect the baby of a woman during her pregnancy.
How is syphilis diagnosed?
A blood test is another way to determine whether someone has syphilis. Because untreated syphilis in a pregnant woman can infect and possibly kill her developing baby, every pregnant woman should have a blood test for syphilis.
What is the link between syphilis and HIV?
Genital sores (chancres) caused by syphilis make it easier to transmit and acquire HIV infection sexually. There is an estimated 2- to 5-fold increased risk of acquiring HIV if exposed to that infection when syphilis is present.
What is the treatment for syphilis?
Syphilis is easy to cure in its early stages. For people who are allergic to penicillin, other antibiotics are available to treat syphilis. Persons with syphilis must notify their sex partners so that they also can be tested and receive treatment if necessary.
Will syphilis recur?
Only laboratory tests can confirm whether someone has syphilis. Because syphilis sores can be hidden in the vagina, rectum, or mouth, it may not be obvious that a sex partner has syphilis.
How can syphilis be prevented?
Condoms lubricated with spermicides (especially Nonoxynol-9 or N-9) are no more effective than other lubricated condoms in protecting against the transmission of STDs. Transmission of an STD, including syphilis cannot be prevented by washing the genitals, urinating, and/or douching after sex
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