Syphilis: The Great Pox Jordan Best

Syphilis is caused by an infection of the bacteria Treponema pallidum Primarily sexually transmitted Vertical transmission is also possible when the mother is untreated

T. pallidum rapidly enters the bloodstream and becomes systemic

Primary Syphilis involves formation of “chancres” at site of infection Appear 2-3 weeks post-infection Without treatment, symptoms typically disappear in 4-6 week

Secondary Syphilis is characterized by lesions of mucous membranes and skin Appears 4-6 weeks after Primary stage Marked by an invasion of the CNS by T. pallidum

Latent Stage Syphilis can remain asymptomatic for decades Host remains infectious during this stage

Tertiary Syphilis adversely affects a wide variety of tissue and can be debilitating or fatal Brain, heart, nervous system, liver, eyes, vascular system Causes blindness, paralysis, mental illness, and death

In early stages, the disease is easily cured with a single intramuscular antibiotic injection Later-stage infections must be monitored through blood testing for several years post-treatment

Azithromycin-resistant strains began to appear in the late 1990’s. Prevalence of resistant strands in San Francisco has increased from 0% in 2000 to 56% in 2004

Developing nations are especially afflicted by syphilis 12 million new cases per year. 90% in developing countries. Congenital syph causes 500 000 perinatal deaths every year in sub-Saharan Africa 

One of the few diseases to spread to Europe from the New World Thought to originate from yaws roughly 1,600 years ago First European syphilis epidemic in 1495

Many historical figures died from syphilis Christopher Columbus Napoleon Bonaparte Al Capone King Henry VIII

References http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/rtis/syphilis/en/index.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3225993/ http://www.who.int/std_diagnostics/publications/Disease%20watch%20syphilis.pdf http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16392078