February 02, 2023
Syphilis, which decimated hundreds of thousands of people in 19th century France, has not disappeared. This sexually transmitted infection caused by bacteria made a comeback regarding thirty years ago.
In the 19th century, it was the cause of a considerable number of deaths, among anonymous people and celebrities of the time, such as Baudelaire or Maupassant. The sexually transmitted and highly contagious bacterial infection, also known as the pox and which almost disappeared following the discovery of antibiotics, made a comeback in industrialized countries around 30 years ago.
It now particularly affects men who have sex with men: they represented 78% of the 3,300 cases diagnosed in 2021 in the free Centers for information, screening and diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections (CeGIDD), relays the Health Insurance. In developing countries, the disease has never completely disappeared.
How is syphilis transmitted? Most often, the disease is transmitted during unprotected sexual intercourse with an already infected person, whether it involves intercourse involving vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, or oral-genital intercourse. Contamination takes place during contact with the syphilitic chancre(s), one or more red pimples that appear on the genitals, anus or at the back of the throat.
How does the disease progress? The chancres evolve into a painless ulcer for several weeks, without symptoms, and heal spontaneously. This is the early phase of the disease, and this is the period during which the contagion is maximum. It lasts regarding a year. If primary syphilis has not been treated, secondary syphilis occurs. It is characterized “by highly contagious lesions occurring in the skin and mucous membranes. These lesions are very varied and misleading, taking on the appearance of a banal roseola, acne, chicken pox, psoriasis… which makes the diagnosis difficult”, warns the French Society of Dermatology.
These lesions disappear following two years, but in the absence of treatment, the disease is always present. This phase can last several years, and lead to serious complications that appear within 10 to 30 years following the first contamination: “Rupture of large blood vessels, neurological or psychiatric disorders, destruction of organs, even death”details the online edition of the leading American medical manual, the Merck Manual.
How to protect once morest syphilis? Condoms at each report and regular screening for STIs are the only ways to prevent and detect the disease. Whatever the stage of its development, it is treated with benzathine penicillin G, used in a form ” delay “. “That is to say that the active ingredient of the drug is released gradually, effectively and constantly, in the body”, explains Medicare. Sexual partners should also be treated. You should also know that syphilis exposes you to an increased risk of HIV/AIDS infection through the lesions it causes. A “Three to five times higher risk”says the Merck manual.
To note : syphilis can be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy, with a risk of transmission of 70% in case of early syphilis and 10% when it is late, and serious consequences for the fetus. However, in France, congenital syphilis is rare thanks to screening in pregnant women.
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Source : Health insurance, French Society of Dermatology, MSD Manuals – January 2023
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Written by : Charlotte David – Edited by: Emmanuel Ducreuzet
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