Become an STI Expert With Our Handy Germ Guide | Page 5 of 14

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Syphilis

A photograph of someone with mucous patches on their tongue caused by secondary syphilis. — A photograph of someone with mucous patches on their tongue caused by secondary syphilis. Photo: CDC/Dr. Henderson

The infection: Syphilis, caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum. 134,000 new U.S. cases reported in 2020.

Symptoms and long-term effects: Painless and easily missed sores around the infection site at first, followed by rashes and flu-like symptoms. It can then go silent for decades, before spreading elsewhere in the body and causing serious organ damage and life threatening complications, including dementia. If passed on from mother to fetus, it can cause stillbirth or severe complications in newborns.

How to treat it: It can be treated easily with antibiotics during the early stages of illness. But antibiotics will not reverse the damage caused by chronic infection.

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