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| WHAT IS IT?:
A bacterial infection |
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| CAUSE:
Treponema pallidum (a spirochete bacteria) |
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| TRANSMISSION:
Sexual contact or mother to baby before birth (congenital syphilis). Rate of transmission is 30% from an infected sexual partner. |
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SYMPTOMS:
  FIRST
APPEARANCE - 10-90 days (average 21 days) after transmission.
The disease has three distinct stages - primary, secondary, and latent - that it goes through. The time frame of the stages can vary from person to person, however. Testing of partner is essential. WOMEN: Primary:
Chancre on or around vagina, vulva, mouth or anus.
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| TESTS:
Blood test or in secretions from a sore. The blood test, called an RPR, will always remain positive throughout life, but the follow-up test will be negative. |
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| TREATMENT:
Three injections of penicillin or spectinomycin, injections spaced a week apart. |
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| CURABLE:
Curable if treated prior to brain damage, heart disease, or other permanent damage is done. |
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| LIFE TIME EFFECTS
FOR YOU:
If untreated: brain damage, paralysis, heart disease. In women untreated and pregnant, there may be damage to the skin, eyes, bones, teeth, and liver to baby at birth. |
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| COMMENTS:
The incidence of syphilis has increased and decreased dramatically in recent years, with more than 11,000 cases reported in the US in 1996. It can be easily dismissed because the initial symptoms are mild, and the secondary ones can be attributed to other causes. |
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