Syphilis

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Nat Rev Dis Primers
• Personal Author:
  Peeling, Rosanna W. ; Mabey, David ; Kamb, Mary L. ; Chen, Xiang-Sheng ; Radolf, Justin David ; Benzaken, Adele Schwartz
• Description:
  Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum (T. pallidum) causes syphilis via sexual exposure or via vertical transmission during pregnancy. T. pallidum is renowned for its invasiveness and immune-evasiveness; its clinical manifestations result from local inflammatory responses to replicating spirochaetes and often imitate those of other diseases. The spirochaete has a long latent period during which individuals have no signs or symptoms but can remain infectious. Despite the availability of simple diagnostic tests and the effectiveness of treatment with a single dose of long-acting penicillin, syphilis is re-emerging as a global public health problem, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSM) in high-income and middle-income countries. Syphilis also causes several hundred thousand stillbirths and neonatal deaths every year in developing nations. Although several low-income countries have achieved WHO targets for the elimination of congenital syphilis, an alarming increase in the prevalence of syphilis in HIV-infected MSM serves as a strong reminder of the tenacity of T. pallidum as a pathogen. Strong advocacy and community involvement are needed to ensure that syphilis is given a high priority on the global health agenda. More investment is needed in research on the interaction between HIV and syphilis in MSM as well as into improved diagnostics, a better test of cure, intensified public health measures and, ultimately, a vaccine.
• Keywords:
  Algorithms Humans Syphilis
• Source:
  Nat Rev Dis Primers. 3:17073
• Pubmed ID:
  29022569
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5809176
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/ ; R01 AI026756/AI/NIAID NIH HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  3
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6681b646437bcf02ddeeefdf00915f65723146a69299ce85b15e0c89fd76ce9b131dc2b2ac96413fd981a4d184487704922b1eef8a31aec3e3eb643b2b22252b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/82044/cdc_82044_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.36 MB ]