SYPHILIS

Claire Dronzek, Mike Guzzo, and Alex Falzarano

- What is the STD you selected? Syphilis

- How do you contract this infection or disease? Syphilis is primarily gained through sexual contact but is also passed from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth. This sexually transmitted disease is caused by a spiral-shaped bacteria.

- What are some symptoms of it? Syphilis has four stages: primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary. Each of these stages have different symptoms of Syphilis. The primary stage consists of a single, painless sore. The secondary stage includes a rash. The latent stage has little to no symptoms and the tertiary stage includes gummas (soft, non-cancerous sores), neurological and cardiac symptoms.

- How do you diagnose this STD? Syphilis is usually diagnosed through blood tests.

- What parts of the body does it affect? Syphilis affects the mouth, genitals, bottom of the feet, and the brain. It causes headaches and sores, as well as white sores inside the mouth.

__Treatment__ - Syphilis can be treated with a single muscle injection of penicillin, which is an antibiotic. This can work for people who have had the STD for under a year. - If a person has had syphilis for over a year, they need additional injections of penicillin. - Treatment kills the bacteria and prevents it from further damage, but it can’t fix damage already done, - People with syphilis treatment must abstain from sexual contact with new people until the sores are healed. __Prevention__ - Syphilis can be prevented by the use of a condom. - Another way to prevent syphilis is to not have multiple sexual partners and to avoid alcohol and drugs. __Statistics__ - 12.2 million cases have been reported since 1999. - Syphilis was very common in the independent former Soviet Union states in the 1990’s.

3 Questions True or False: If a person has had Syphilis for over a year, they need additional injections of penicillin. Fill-In: Syphilis has _____ stages. Multiple Choice: Which is NOT a stage of Syphilis? A. primary B. thirdary C. latent D. tertiary