Syphilis is a sexually transmitted, bacterial infection that initially causes genital ulcers (sores). If untreated, the disease will progress to more serious stages of infection, including blindness and nerve damage.
An ancient disease, syphilis is still of major importance today. Although syphilis rates in the United States declined by almost 90 percent from 1990 to 2000, the number of cases rose from 5,979 in 2000 to 9,756 in 2006. In a single year, from 2005 to 2006, the rate of syphilis jumped 12 percent.
There also was a dramatic change in which groups the disease affects the most. An increase of primary and secondary syphilis in males has driven the overall rate increase for the U.S. to 54 percent from 2002 to 2006. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of cases in men increased 11.8 percent, reflecting an increase in syphilis in men who have sex with men. Additionally, an increase of 11.4 percent was observed in African-American women from 2005 to 2006.
HIV infection and syphilis are linked. Syphilis increases the risk of transmitting as well as getting infected with HIV.
NIAID Research on Syphilis
Developing better ways to diagnose and treat syphilis is an important research goal of scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Scientists are developing new tests that may provide better ways to diagnose syphilis and define the stage of infection. Efforts to develop a diagnostic test that would not require a blood sample are a high priority. For example, researchers are evaluating saliva and urine to see whether they would work as well as blood. Researchers are also trying to develop other diagnostic tests for detecting infection in babies.
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