Syphilis
Vincenzo Berghella in Maternal-Fetal Evidence Based Guidelines, 2022
Treponema pallidum is easily transmitted by sexual contact, and an overwhelming majority of cases are transmitted by sexual intercourse. Endemic syphilis is transmitted non-venerally by close contact with an active lesion and occurs in communities living under poor hygiene conditions. Syphilis is rarely transmitted during transfusion of blood or blood products or through needle sharing by intravenous drug abusers. The organism generally enters the body through small breaches in epithelial surfaces of genital, anorectal, oropharyngeal, or other cutaneous sites; however; penetration of intact mucous membranes can occur. Once inside the body it rapidly disseminates. The incubation period for T. pallidum averages 3 weeks, but can range 10–90 days. During the incubation period infected patients have, by definition, neither clinical nor serologic evidence of disease but are potentially infectious. The period of greatest infectivity is early in the disease when a chancre, mucous patch, or condyloma latum is present. Infectivity decreases over time, and after 4 years it is very unlikely that an untreated individual will spread syphilis, even by sexual contact. The risk of infection during a single sexual encounter with an infected individual is up to 60% depending on the stage of disease, and approaches 100% after five sexual encounters [8].
Syphilis
Shiv Shanker Pareek in The Pictorial Atlas of Common Genito-Urinary Medicine, 2018
These detect specific antibodies to T. pallidum and are used to confirm positive non-treponemal tests. Because of their specificity, a positive result may be obtained long after successful treatment for syphilis. Fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test.Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TP-PA) assay.Treponema pallidum haemagglutination (TPHA) test.Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test.
Mucosal immune responses to microbes in genital tract
Phillip D. Smith, Richard S. Blumberg, Thomas T. MacDonald in Principles of Mucosal Immunology, 2020
Syphilis is transmitted through direct contact with a sore, which can occur on the external genitals, vagina, anus, mouth, or in the rectum. Penicillin is used to treat the causative agent of syphilis, the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum. However, if untreated, syphilis can result in three stages of disease progression. The primary stage manifests with a single or multiple sores (chancres). The chancre lasts 3–6 weeks, and it heals without treatment. However, if untreated, the infection progresses to the secondary stage. Skin rash (often on palms of the hands and bottoms of the feet) and mucous membrane lesions appear that may be accompanied by fever, fatigue, weight loss, and swollen lymph nodes during secondary syphilis. The symptoms of secondary syphilis will resolve without treatment, but the infection will progress to the latent and possibly late stages of disease. The latent stage of syphilis can last for years. Upon reactivation, a tertiary stage of syphilis ensues, in which the disease may damage the internal organs, including the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints. This damage can lead to difficulty coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness, dementia, and even death.
The applications of big data in molecular diagnostics
Published in Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics, 2019
Yin Kwan Evelyn Wong, Ka Wai Lam, Ka Yi Ho, Chi Shing Allen Yu, Chi Shing William Cho, Hin Fung Tsang, Man Kee Maggie Chu, Po Wah Lawrence Ng, Chi Shing William Tai, Lawrence Wing Chi Chan, Elaine Yue Ling Wong, Sze Chuen Cesar Wong
Big Data can also assist in developing novel treatments against aggressive infections such as syphilis. Syphilis is categorized as sexually transmitted diseases caused by Treponema pallidum which can be transmitted horizontally via sexual interactions and vertically from mother to fetus, and also invade the host’s organ system. Studies revealed that the bacterium performs high sensitivity toward the penicillin treatment. After using antibiotic treatments over the seven decades, more and more countries have reported cases of resistance against the antibiotics and it is foreseen that the conventional treatment would not be the best-fit approach in treating syphilis in the near future. Novel treatment strategies have shifted to reverse vaccinology [21]. With the sequencing and computational methods, bioinformaticians are able to make use of in silico dataset comparison to gain prompt identification of effective vaccine genomic candidates for developing novel treatments. The new approaches (i.e. subtractive genomics and in vitro synthesis), as compared to traditional methods (i.e. pathogenic cultivation and purification), not only can provide more accurate information regarding genetic variations but are also more time and cost effective [22,23].
Serologic false-positive reactions for syphilis in children of adenoidal hypertrophy:2 case reports and review of the literature
Published in Acta Clinica Belgica, 2021
Wei Wang, Xuzhou Fan, Xuelian Huang, Jingmei Yan, Jianfeng Luan
Syphilis, once epidemic only in low-income countries, is currently increasing at epidemic rates in high-income countries, mainly in men who have sex with men, women of reproductive age, and newborns [1]. As a chronic bacterial infection caused by Treponema Pallidum(TP), it is highly contagious and has a complicated pathogenic mechanism.Its transmission methods include sexual contact and vertical transmission [2]. Based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately 18 million syphilis patients worldwide in the year of 2012, and more than 5 million cases of syphilis are diagnosed all around the globe each year [3]. China, the most populous country in the world, has a high syphilis disease burden. It is estimated that there are approximately 3 million cases of syphilis in China, accounting for over 15% of the global estimate [4–6]. Syphilis has become a public health issue of close concern to the world.
UK guidelines for the medical and laboratory procurement and use of sperm, oocyte and embryo donors (2019)
Published in Human Fertility, 2021
Helen Clarke, Shona Harrison, Marta Jansa Perez, Jackson Kirkman-Brown
In order to minimize the risk of transmission of bacterial infections all prospective donors should, prior to donation, screen negative for:Syphilis. Caused by infection with Treponema pallidum. It is transmitted by direct contact with an infectious lesion or by vertical transmission (trans-placental passage) during pregnancy.Gonorrhoea. Caused by infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The primary sites of infection are the mucous membranes of the urethra, endocervix, rectum, pharynx and conjunctiva. Transmission is by direct inoculation of infected secretions from one mucous membrane to another.Chlamydia. Genital chlamydial infection is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. Infection is primarily through penetrative sexual intercourse.
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