Syphilis is caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum. You can get syphilis by direct contact with a syphilis sore during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Sores can be found on the penis, vagina, anus, in the rectum, or on the lips and in the mouth. Syphilis can also be spread from an infected mother to her unborn baby. Syphilis has been called ‘the great imitator’ because it has so many possible symptoms, many of which look like symptoms from other diseases.
The painless syphilis sore that you would get after you are first infected can be confused for an ingrown hair, zipper cut, or other seemingly harmless bump. The non-itchy body rash that develops during the second stage of syphilis can show up on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet, all over your body, or in just a few places. You could also be infected with syphilis and have very mild symptoms or none at all. Occasionally, the disease can be passed to another person through prolonged kissing or close bodily contact. Although this disease is spread from sores, the vast majority of those sores go unrecognized. The infected person is often unaware of the disease and unknowingly passes it on to his or her sexual partner.
According to the CDC, the rate of new cases of syphilis had plummeted in the 1990’s and in the year 2000 it reached an all time low since reporting began in 1941. However, new cases of syphillis doubled between 2005 and 2013 from 8,724 to 16,663. If left untreated, it can go on to cause disease in other organs of the body, including the central nervous system (neurosyphilis). Neurosyphilis may not cause any symptoms. On the other hand it can cause blindness, personality changes, dementia or even death.
Syphilis infection occurs in three distinct stages:
Early or primary syphilis. People with primary syphilis will develop one or more sores. The sores are usually small painless ulcers. They occur on the genitals or in or around the mouth somewhere between 10-90 days (average three weeks) after exposure. Even without treatment they heal without a scar within six weeks.
The secondary stage may last one to three months and begins within six weeks to six months after exposure. People with secondary syphilis experience a rosy “copper penny” rash typically on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. However, rashes with a different appearance may occur on other parts of the body, sometimes resembling rashes caused by other diseases. They may also experience moist warts in the groin, white patches on the inside of the mouth, swollen lymph glands, fever, and weight loss. Like primary syphilis, secondary syphilis will resolve without treatment.
Latent syphilis. This is where the infection lies dormant (inactive) without causing symptoms.
Tertiary syphilis. If the infection isn’t treated, it may then progress to a stage characterized by severe problems with the heart, brain, and nerves that can result in paralysis, blindness, dementia, deafness, impotence, and even death if it’s not treated.
Test Options
Syphilis: Identification of Syphilis Virus
Learn more about Syphillis
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/syphilis/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-syphilis.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/syphilis.html
http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/syphilis.html
