SYPHILI

S
VALENCIA, MARY KATHLEEN E.
SYPHILIS a.k.a “The Great Imitator”
• Syphilis was presented in Europe before discovered in the
Americas by Europeans
• In 1905, Fritz Schaudin and Erich Hoffman discovered the
actual bacteria Treponema pallidum
• In 1906, Wasserman developed the famous first test to
diagnose syphilis
• Paul Ehrlich then discovered an arsenic based medicine
that he called salvarsan and referred to as his
chemotherapeutic “magic bullet” against syphilis during
the same time period
• Has been known as "the great imitator" as it may cause
symptoms similar to many other diseases
CAUSATIVE AGENT
TREPONEMA PALLIDUM
• Make Effective Presentations
• Using Awesome Backgrounds
• Engage your Audience
• Capture Audience Attention
TRANSMISSION
• Spread through sexual contact from open
sores on/inside genitals, anus, rectum,
mouth, or tongue
• Human to human contact is the only known
possible way to acquire this bacterial disease
RESERVOIR
• Human beings
INCUBATION PERIOD
• Averages 3 weeks but can range from 2
weeks to several months
• Disease progresses through several
recognized stages
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
PRIMARY STAGE
• Occur with in 10 to 90 after first human to
human infectious contact but usually
averages a three week period
• The primary stage is recognizable by a sore
that is a hard, painless sore around the
mouth, gentiles, or anus
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
SECONDARY STAGE
• Raw rashes that can appear anywhere on the body
• Sore throat
• Hoarseness
(abnormal voice changes)
• Patchy hair loss
• Loss of appetite
• Swollen glands
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Fever
 SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
LATENT PERIOD
• Secondary syphilis symptoms subside after a few weeks,
the disease enters a latent period
• There are no symptoms
• After 2 to 4 years of latency, the disease is not normally
infectious except for transmission from mother to fetus
• The majority of the cases do not progress beyond the
latent stage even without treatment
 SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
TERTIARY STAGE
• After a decade of suffering from the disease, “gummas” a produce
• Can cause dementia, heart and other internal organ damage,
blindness, numbness, paralysis and other central nervous disorders
DIAGNOSIS
• Serologic testing
• In the early stage when antibodies are not numerous
microscopy tests are required
In a suspected syphilis patient
• Microscopic tests
• Nontreponemal serological tests
Example of NST
Veneral Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL test)
Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR test)
DIAGNOSIS

• Treponemal Type Serological test

Example:
Rapid Diagnostic test- done from a finger prick
blood sample
FTA-ABS ( Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody
Absorption Test)
 TREATMENT
• Benzathine Penicillin
• Azithromycine
• Doxycycline
• Tertracycline
STATISTICS
• The World Health Organization says that
every year, at least half a million infants are
born with congenital syphilis
• Few data that exist do not give a full picture
because only 68% of women in developing
countries, including the Philippines have
developed congenital syphilis
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/84854