Syphilis causes 500,000 stillbirths and deaths in new-born babies globally every year, according to a paper in this week's Lancet. Last year, the New England Journal of Medicine published research showing rates of the disease were soaring in China, with 20 people in every 100,000 carrying the infection.
What is it?
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, but affects the whole body. It can be passed from pregnant woman to unborn child, as well as through sex (vaginal, anal or oral), or blood transfusions (donated blood is screened for syphilis). You can't catch it from toilet seats or towels, as it is caused by a fragile bacterium, Treponema pallidum.
How prevalent is it?
The Health Protection Agency announced this week that, for the first time in a decade, rates of sexually transmitted diseases have fallen in England. In real numbers, 2,624 people in Britain were diagnosed with syphilis in 2010.
What are the symptoms?
In the primary stage there is usually a single sore – painless, round and firm – that appears after three to six weeks. There may be more than one, but they heal within two months. The secondary stage (four to 10 weeks after the first sore) consists of skin rashes (typically brown or red rough spots on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet) and can cause fever, sore throat, headaches, muscle aches, patchy hair loss (giving a typical "moth-eaten" appearance), swollen lymph glands and rashes inside the mouth. If untreated, the disease can cause, among other things, blindness, dementia and paralysis.
What happens if a foetus gets infected?
The bacteria cross the placental barrier (but only in the fifth month of pregnancy) and infect the unborn baby, causing stillbirths. If the baby is born alive, it can suffer from deformities such as a saddle-shaped nose, misshapen teeth, as well as deafness and blindness. Mothers are screened for syphilis at antenatal clinics; if they have early-stage syphilis the baby is less likely to be seriously affected.
How is it
diagnosed and treated?
You can diagnose the disease with a blood test, or a doctor can see the bacteria under a microscope after scraping material from a sore. Penicillin and other antibiotics cure it; the number of doses depends on how long you have had it. You shouldn't have sex until the sore is healed and should tell your partner, as he or she may need treatment. It's important for pregnant women to have their partners treated. You can reduce your risk of catching syphilis by using a condom or by being in a mutually monogamous relationship. You can't always see the sores, so a quick look at your partner before having sex may not save you. After treatment, your doctor may want to do a blood test to check the infection has gone.