Syphilis - An Old Though Thoroughly Modern Disease
Elizabeth Campbell
You may already have read a lot about the dreadful disease called syphilis. It is almost always transferred through sexual contact. It is highly transmissible and contagious, while its progress is certain, it can manifest intermittently.
Primary syphilis is the stage where the Treponema Palladium spirochete enters the body which begins at the where the infectious sore directly touched; sometimes it does not show any remarkable symptom. Reviewing the medical history of the patient will reveal that the contact with an infected person happened 1-8 weeks before. The normal lesion is characterized by a chancre, a firm painless wound, the spot of the first exposure, most frequently, the penis, the labia or the uterine cervix.
The incubation takes on average 21 days, and it depends on more factors. The chancre begins with slight erosion, which changes rapidly into a superficial, painless ulceration. It is accompanied by hypertrophy of regional ganglions, which are isolated, mobile, and painless.
In secondary syphilis, the infection starts to spread. It begins from 7-10 weeks after the first exposure and at 2-3 weeks from the appearance of the signs of primary syphilis. Microbes move from the ganglions where their numbers have greatly multiplied. A second incubation ensues until the appearance of first skin ulcerations which happens 45 days from appearance of first symptoms and 60-70 days after first exposure.
The infection will sometimes cause fever. Any part of the body tissue can be affected and injured. In general, the lesions will develop in the teguments and mucous membranes. The lesions will appear like rashes caused by a viral disease, however lesions will be pustule-like elements.
Recurrent syphilis occurs after insufficient or incorrect treatment. In this case, secondary syphilis can emerge again (in 3 to 9 months after treatment). Relapses can be only serologic, without any clinical manifestations. If clinical manifestations still occur, they can be skin and mucous membranes lesions, neurological symptoms, sore eyes, bones affections or visceral ones.
Latent syphilis represents a calm stage from clinical point of view, between secondary lesions resorption and tertiary symptoms emergence.
During this stage, the serologic reaction is positive, the LCR exam is negative; the radiological and clinical exam and the ECG highlight possible cardiovascular lesions.
The third stage of the infection or tertiary syphilis can emerge even after years of latency. At the late latency stage, lesions might appear perhaps as an allergic reaction of the tissue to Treponema Palladium, affecting tissues of the skin and the mucous membranes. Small lesions can develop and become nodules. The mucous membranes can also develop tubercles and lesions.
Congenital syphilis can be transmitted nowadays from mother to fetus, via fetus placenta flow, therefore during the baby's intrauterine life. It cannot be transmitted from the father if the mother is healthy.
When the child is born or during the first two years of its life, blister like symptoms are produced which sometimes turn into wounds. This is the precocious congenital syphilis.
Late congenital syphilis happens two years from birth. Lesions will appear, which is an indication that the disease has already progressed to the third stage.
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