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Today, 22 November 2009

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Yesterday, 21 November 2009

› SACP attacks Malema

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Question

Please can you give me some information on syphilis and its cure. Are there any web sites which deal with this?

Answer

syphilis is still a common disease in South Africa and in other parts of the developing world, but is very uncommon in the first world.

It is a sexually transmitted disease (STD), spread by unprotected sex with multiple partners. It is caused by the bacterium, Treponema pallidum.

The first sign of the disease in a man is a highly infectious open sore called a chancre, which is painless. There may be no symptoms of early infection in women. The disease is passed from person to person through either vaginal, anal or oral sex since these sores can occur in any of these areas.

The incubation period is between 10 to 90 days, usually around 21 days.

There are three stages in syphilis. The first stage, primary syphilis, is the appearance of the sore. This heals on its own in a few weeks.

If there is no treatment then secondary syphilis occurs which is characterised by the appearance of a rash which may be anywhere on the body, but is often on the palms and soles of the feet. In this stage there may also be swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, headaches, weight loss and tiredness. The person with the disease is still highly infectious at this stage.

Once the secondary symptoms disappear latent, or tertiary syphilis, starts if the infected person has not been treated. The bacterium stays in the body where it causes damage to all the internal organs including the brain, nerves, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones and joints. It can take many years for symptoms to show in latent syphilis and is often fatal.

A pregnant woman with syphilis can pass the disease to her unborn child who will then be born with congenital syphilis. Symptoms of this are skin sores, runny noses, inflammation in the mouth, swollen joints, liver damage and brain damage.

Syphilis is diagnosed by a blood test, often done the same day at many South African clinics for sexually transmitted diseases.

Syphilis is very easily treated in the primary stage with a single injection of penicillin. However, in this country the policy is to give three penicillin injections each one week apart since it is difficult to know how long the infection has been present.

A pregnant woman with syphilis will not pass it on to her child if she is treated before the 34th week of pregnancy. A newborn with congenital syphilis needs penicillin injections for 10 days.

The best treatment for syphilis is prevention. Do not have casual sex without using condoms. syphilis is only one of many STDs which can result from unprotected sex.

Any general medical web site will provide information on syphilis. The Centres for Disease Control in the USA have a specific site on sexually transmitted diseases with information on syphilis

MORE INFECTIOUS DISEASES Q&A'S
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