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Syphilis - Syphilis symptom, treatment, causes

Syphilis is an infectious disease caused by the spirochaete (spiral-shaped bacterium) Treponema pallidum. Most syphilis is sexually transmitted, when syphilitic sores on the genitals or elsewhere are rubbed against a sexual partner, the spirochaetes may be transferred through a small break in genital skin or membranes.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum . The highly infectious disease may also be passed, but much less often, through blood transfusions or from mother to fetus in the womb. It has also been given the names "Miss. Siff" and "The Pox". Almost 36 000 cases of syphilis are reported in the United States each year but many more go unreported. The majority of syphilis sufferers are male, accounting for about 60% of all cases. If caught early on, syphilis can be easily treated. However, if left untreated, syphilis can cause heart problems, psychological disorders, blindness, and death. Syphilis also increases the risk of contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, by up to five fold.

Syphilis has many alternate names, including "syph", "Cupid's Disease", "the Pox" (or "great pox", to distinguish it from smallpox ), "lues" (hence luiphobia , or fear of syphilis), and the "French disease." The spirochete is a wormlike, spiral-shaped organism that wiggles vigorously when viewed under a microscope. It infects the person by burrowing into the moist, mucous-covered lining of the mouth or genitals. Within hours, the bacterium reaches nearby lymph nodes, then spreads throughout the body by way of the bloodstream. Syphilis can infect a fetus during pregnancy , causing birth defects and other problems. The annual number of people with newly diagnosed symptomatic syphilis last peaked in 1990, with 50,000 cases in the United States. Since then largely because of focused public health measures numbers have been dropping; 35,600 total and slightly more than 6,000 symptomatic cases were reported in 1999. Thus, most cases are detected in people without symptoms.

Occasionally syphilis is transferred in a non-sexual way. The spirochaetes live in the blood, and any discharge or ooze from sores or wounds of people with primary or secondary syphilis could possibly be transferred by contact of the, fluids with broken skin. Syphilis can also be transmitted from a mother to her foetus's blood at any stage of pregnancy.

After the advent of effective treatment in the 1940s, the number of cases diagnosed diminished rapidly until the 1970s. Since then, syphilis has been on the increase. There are many parts of the world (including some parts of Australia) where it is still rife.

Causes of Syphilis

The common Causes of Syphilis :

• It's caused by the bacteria called Treponema pallidum that enters the body through the mucous membranes of the genital area or the skin.
• Men are more vulnerable to contracting syphilis than women.
• Transmission most often occurs when one person comes into contact with lesions on an infected person through sexual activity.
• You cannot catch syphilis from towels, baths, toilets, or crockery.
• The active disease is found most often among men and women aged 15-39 years.

Symptoms of Syphilis

Some common Symptoms of Syphilis :

• Flat wart-like growths on the vulva in women and around the anus in both sexes .
• Wart-looking growths on the genitals.
• Swollen glands .
• Fever
• Loss of appetite.
• Joint pain .
• Extensive lymph node enlargement.
• Muscle aches .
• Fatigue and a vague feeling of discomfort .

SYPHILIS AND PREGNANCY

Across the world, the number of babies born with syphilis is increasing. In some countries many are born severely deformed and ill, or are stillborn, because of infection before birth. Doctors and midwives usually advise all pregnant women to be tested for syphilis. No matter how unlikely the possibility of infection, it is wise to accept this test. Treatment during pregnancy will cure both mother and foetus.

EFFECTS OF SYPHILIS INFECTION

After the spirohaetes get into a break in skin or membranes and start to multiply, they soon enter the lymph vessels and travel to the nearest lymph glands and hence into the blood, where they continue to multiply and are spread throughout the body. There are four stages of syphilis infection: primary, secondary, latent and tertiary. Primary syphilis Symptoms start between 9 and 90 days after infection, when an ulcer called a chancre develops at the infection site. Typically the chancre is shallow with a raised edge and a firm base. It is usually painless and solitary, but there may be several. The fluid that oozes from the chancre is highly infectious. The chancre may be on or near the genitals, around the anus or mouth, or wherever the infection entered. It is usually less than I am in diameter and may be too small to be noticed. The nearby lymph glands usually swell but are not tender.

Treatment of Syphilis

Until the discovery of penicillin, syphilis was the best known and most feared of the sexually transmitted diseases. The word still terrifies most people, but syphilis can now be cured because the spirochaetes are very sensitive to antibiotics, penicillin is still the best treatment, usually by daily injection for 10 to 21 days. Other antibiotics can be used for people who are allergic to penicillin. Damage to tissues from tertiary syphilis cannot be reversed, but treatment prevents it from progressing further. After treatment, blood checks are repeated to be sure that it has worked: some tests become negative after all the spirochaetes in the body have been killed.

• Syphilis is treated with antibiotics.
• Pregnant women with a history of allergic reaction to penicillin should undergo penicillin desensitization followed by appropriate penicillin therapy.
• Only antibiotic therapy will treat this infection. You must seek medical care for this disease.
• The reaction is quite common, develops within several hours after beginning antibiotic treatment, and usually clears within 24 hours.
• The usual treatment for syphilis is a course of antibiotic injections.
• After appropriate antibiotic treatment is given for syphilis, follow up blood tests (RPR) are usually performed to assess the adequacy of treatment.
• Sexual partners should be informed, and sexual contact should be avoided until all ulcers have healed and the infection has gone.
• The antibiotic of choice is penicillin, yet doxycycline may be used as an alternative in individuals with a penicillin allergy.