WHOM SYPHILIS

HAVE YOU EXPOSED TO

HR PHYSICIAN LD BE EXAMINED NEED TREATMENT DEPT OF HEALTH

SYPHILIS

A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE

Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, was once as feared and deadly as AIDS is today. It first appeared in Italy in 1494, and by 1500 was a European epidemic. A cure was not discovered until the 1940s.

There are three stages to syphilis. The first occurs 1-12 weeks after exposure and is characterized by a painless, red, rubbery sore (called a chancre) on the penis, nipples, or vagina, or in the anus or mouth. After a few weeks the chancre heals and secondary syphilis begins, accompanied by mild fevers, patchy hair loss, achiness, and a rash which varies in appearance and can be anywhere on the body. This rash, easily misidentified, marks the disease's most contagious period. In 10-20 years, about 1/3 of those infected develop tertiary syphilis. In this stage, paralysis, insanity, heart disease, bone and skin ulcers, and death can occur. Syphilis is curable with penicillin, but any damage already done is irreparable. Diagnosis is by a blood test, required by law in most states before marriage.

Almost everything we know about syphilis is the result of genocidal studies done at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. In these studies, which continued well after it was known that penicillin cures syphilis, black men with syphilis were told that they were being treated, but were in fact only given a placebo. White doctors then recorded the manner in which these men became crippled or died in order to document the progression of the disease.

Syphilis is on the rise in the U.S., especially among people with HIV or AIDS. It is transmitted during sex and from mothers to infants. Using a condom greatly reduces your risk of infection. Next Card 76: GONORRHEA & CHLAMYDIA: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

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AIDS AWARENESS: PEOPLE WITH AIDS

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SYPHILIS