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Syphilis, once a cause of devastating epidemics, can be effectively diagnosed
and treated with antibiotic therapy. In 1996, 11,387 cases of primary and
secondary syphilis in the United States were reported to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Although treatment is available, the early
symptoms of syphilis can be very mild, and many people do not seek treatment
when they first become infected. Of increasing concern is the fact that
syphilis increases the risk of transmitting and acquiring the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by a bacterium called
Treponema pallidum. The initial infection causes an ulcer at the site of
infection; however, the bacteria move throughout the body, damaging many organs
over time. Medical experts describe the course of the disease by dividing it
into four stages primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary (late). An
infected person who has not been treated may infect others during the first two
stages, which usually last one to two years. In its late stages, untreated
syphilis, although not contagious, can cause serious heart abnormalities,
mental disorders, blindness, other neurologic problems, and death.
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The bacterium spreads from the initial ulcer of an infected person to the skin
or mucous membranes of the genital area, the mouth, or the anus of a sexual
partner. It also can pass through broken skin on other parts of the body. The
syphilis bacterium is very fragile, and the infection is almost always spread
by sexual contact. In addition, a pregnant woman with syphilis can pass the
bacterium to her unborn child, who may be born with serious mental and physical
problems as a result of this infection. But the most common way to get syphilis
is to have sex with someone who has an active infection.
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