Syphilis is a curable, bacterial infection, that left untreated will progress through four stages with increasingly serious symptoms.
A person can get syphilis from another person if the soft skin of the mucous membrane found inside the vagina, urethra and anus or a cut/abrasion come into contact with an infected lesions, found during primary & secondary syphilis, during vaginal, oral and anal sex, even if there is no sexual penetration.
Syphilis can be detected by a blood test, which looks for antibodies developed by the body. It can sometimes take a week to a few months to develop enough antibodies for a blood test to detect. Because of this, testing during early primary syphilis may come back with a false-negative result. Another way of testing for syphilis is by testing fluid taken from lesions or a chancre (infectious sore), which occur during primary or secondary syphilis. This is done by using a special microscope called a darkfield microscope (darkfield exam). It is possible to receive a false negative result from a darkfield exam, so a negative result does not necessarily rule out syphilis.
Syphilis is curable with antibiotics, and the preferred treatment is penicillin. Treatment for those who are allergic to penicillin, pregnant women, or infants born with syphilis, may vary.
Prevention and risk reduction:
- Abstinence (not having sex)
- Mutual monogamy (having sex with only one uninfected partner)
- Latex condoms for vaginal and anal sex
Untreated syphilis from early to late stages can produce symptoms from 17 days up to 30+ years. While curable with antibiotics, complications that may develop in later stages cannot be reversed with treatment.