Through time, men and women, have encountered many dangers, that has cost a multitude of lives and almost wiped out humanity. Some of these dangers were caused by contact, fighting wars, and natural disasters. But, there are some killers that cannot be seen and act like invisible agents of death, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. Some of these silent assassins can act when two people are performing the most intimate of acts, and this moment of love or lust can become quite destructive. These little assassins are called diseases, and a few, in the form of a bacteria, can be lethal. They have an immense reproducibility, and with this, the chance of spreading a disease in an accelerated rhythm. ‘Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It has often been called the great imitator because so many of the signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other diseases'(‘Syphilis’ Contagious Diseases Sourcebook). The imitation is because of the diverse signs that syphilis has, like skin ulcerations, herpes simplex virus or skin tumors, even some historians presume that could be mistaken for leprosy. Because of this, scientists are not completely sure about the origin of syphilis, some speculate and have diverse theories but cannot be sure, due to the lack of tangible proves. This is one of the most dangerous and common infections that still infect people in an alarming number across the world.
When humans bond, many other problems can happen. “Syphilis and HIV are both transmitted sexually and so it is no surprise that a substantial number of people are infected with both agents” (Lynn et al.). It is not strange that people can have Syphilis and HIV, both diseases are acquired through unprotected sex, and unprotected oral sex. Meaning that people that have a certain type of life, are in an immense risk of getting a disease that can not be cured, but treated, that is HIV. Syphilis “it is occasionally acquired by direct sexual contact with an infected person, and it can also be acquired by an unborn fetus through infection in the mother’ (‘Syphilis’ Britannica Academic). Commonly, people get infected when they have sexual intercourse without protection with several partners. The risk is higher among gay males, due to the lack of protection in intimacy. Not only through genitalia contact, the risk is the same when unprotected oral sex is performed. Pregnant women can infect her own unborn, but the baby can be cured if the detection is done promptly. ‘In the United States, health officials reported over 36,000 cases of syphilis in 2006, including 9,756 cases of primary and secondary syphilis'(‘Syphilis’ Contagious Diseases Sourcebook). This shows the immense incidence of this disease and how common is. Meaning that it is not enough the work on prevention of STDs.
Syphilis is presented in one of four well-delimited states: primary, secondary, latent and tertiary. ‘Primary syphilis refers to the initial stage of the organism’s entry into the body. The first signs of infection are not always noticed ‘(Fallon). When the bacteria enter the organism through sexual contact is considered the initial stage or primary syphilis. Being this disease not always noticed, the risk of contagious is high, therefore the immense importance of always use protection, and more, if the person is at high risk due to his sexual behaviors. ‘After an incubation period ranging between 10 and 90 days, an individual develops a chancre’ (Fallon). This is a genital ulcer, that mostly appears on the genitalia, and disappears after some time, again remarking the importance of protection, because of the ghostly character of this disease. Women often do not notice the chancre, due to the position of this on the female genitals, inferring that they can be infected and do not know it.
After a while, all the symptoms disappear, and the person can think that was a random virus. ‘ Secondary syphilis is a systemic infection marked by the eruption of skin rashes and ulcers in the mucous membranes’ (Fallon). At this stage some ulcer can appear in the anal area, commonly between homosexual males, because is part of the mucous membrane, also is very common skin rashes, that can appear on the extremities. When people have a secondary stage usually, did not notice the chancre on the first stage, or did not develop one. ‘Latent syphilis is a phase of the disease characterized by the relative absence of external symptoms’ (Fallon). This statement is in a certain way scary, means that any person can carry the disease and do not show any signs of it, even can think that are cured and spread the bacteria among their sexual partners. ‘Untreated syphilis progresses to a third, or tertiary, stage in about 35-40% of people. Individuals with tertiary syphilis cannot infect others with the disease’ (Fallon). People with this advanced stage cannot spread the disease, but, has already done an enormous damage to the body, developing gummas which are tumor-like growths, deforming the person, making it literally look like a monster from a horror movie. Therefore, some historians believe that syphilis is a much older disease, this stage leaves physical damage, and these signs have been spotted in very ancient remains.
Treatment of this disease, fortunately, is not a complicated matter. ‘Doctors can easily treat early-stage syphilis with antibiotics'(‘Syphilis’ Human Diseases and Conditions). Since the antibiotic’s discovered this disease can be treated by doctors but, is important to detect it promptly and do not develop a more advanced stage. The same concept applies to pregnant women, as soon it is detected, more chances has the baby to be born completely infection free, and his mother can be cured too. Being the treatment very accessible does not mean that there is no risk at all because this is not the only disease out there. ‘Medications cannot reverse damage already done to the body’ (‘Syphilis’ Human Diseases and Conditions). Patients with an advanced stage can receive antibiotics too, but the physical damage, like gumma, does not go away, or the brain damage that the disease could provoke to the person. ‘ Penicillin, an antibiotic, injected into the muscle is the best treatment for syphilis. If you are allergic to penicillin, your health care provider may give you another antibiotic to take by mouth'(‘What You Should Know about Syphilis’). This is a very uncomplicated treatment for a disease that can be fatal. Just a simple injection in the muscle can cure a disease that has caused so many deaths through history. If the person has an allergy to this medicine, doctors can use another antibiotic, meaning that there are many ways to treat it, but the best treatment is prevention.
The Internet has opened an entire world of possibilities and has changed how the world interacts. ‘The Internet has become more of a sexual playground for many gay men, it’s also become a breeding ground for sexually transmitted diseases’ (Condon). It is incredibly easy thanks to the internet and social media to find a sexual partner, sometimes this is called the hookup culture. Gay men are the most risk community, due to the lack of use of protection, this is something very serious because syphilis is not the only STD out there. But as easy it looks to have a sexual encounter, is even easier to get an STD like syphilis, due to the character of this encounter, who are with random people, and the use of condoms is a must because there is no way to know if that person is infected. ‘But while bisexual and gay men are using the Internet to find sex partners, public health officials say the medium is also a potentially powerful tool to counteract risky behaviors with education and outreach'(Roni Rabin). It seems that social media has a big part on the spread of STD like syphilis, also can be used in the prevention, because is a powerful weapon that can reach many persons almost instantly. There should be a big effort utilizing this new platform to inform about the dangers and how easy it is to avoid the risk and enjoy a sexual life with no regrets. Even schools should update its sex talk, instead of avoiding it. This is an era where information is just at once click distance, that is why it is so important to speak openly and say what it is important.
There are still people with a retrograde way of thinking, and out of date. ‘U.S. Planned Parenthood argues that the Christian Right has been central to promoting the policy of abstinence-only education'(Hunter). Maybe for some people, abstinence is the key to be protected, but it is not too smart avoiding talking about something that is going to happens anyways. Instead of cover and make the pre-marital sex a sinful act, would be better if the talk were more about how to avoid diseases and when to say no. This will give more confidence to the youth in a subject that is new at that stage of life. ‘Under the guise pretext of protecting our youth, they declare, inaccurately, that premarital sex among adolescents is a relatively new and corrupt social phenomenon ‘(Hunter). Through time, pre-marital sex has been a taboo among certain individuals and stating that is a new phenomenon, denote a total lack of rational knowledge. Sexuality is perfectly normal; therefore, it is so necessary to teach how to deal with it in a healthy and smart way.
The more recent syphilis history is not entirely clear, exists a few hypotheses about his origin. “The earliest references to the disease now known as syphilis come from the 1490s when it broke out among French troops besieging the city of Naples. Initially known as Morbus gallicus (the French Disease)'(Bowers). This is the early reference because people described the symptoms, and even some artists portrayed it on his work Due to this, the disease soon was spread all over Europe, and any person who was infected suffered from social stigmatization, because of the physical traces left by the disease in its late stages. ‘It is thought by some historians that the disease was first introduced into Europe by Columbus’ returning sailors'(‘Syphilis.’ Van Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia). Meaning that The New World was the source of syphilis, a new disease that did not exist in the Old World, and Colombus sailors were the epidemic source of a new disease that knocked Europe.
But Syphilis could have been since ancient times and mistaken for another disease. ‘Another view is that the disease has existed in civilized man since antiquity. Early Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions, as well as bony changes found in mummies, are interpreted as supporting this theory’ (‘Syphilis.’ Van Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia). This is an infection that imitates other diseases, because of this historian cannot say if syphilis truly existed since Egyptian times. The scientific knowledge was not fully developed to say for sure if it was syphilis or something else. The lack of veridic information and proves just leads to interpretation. ‘Among Albrecht Dürer’s first known woodcuts is one showing a syphilitic man. The Nuremberg artist’s image is the earliest known depiction of an individual suffering from this illness ‘(Eisler, C.). Through the artist’s eyes, it is possible to see a description of syphilis in a man beaten by the war, and for a disease that was an epidemic on that time, killing and stigmatizing people.
More recently some experiments were conducted with a purpose of seeing how untreated syphilis could affect individuals. ‘During the 1920s, researchers of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) developed plans to study the response of black males to disease, hypothesizing that the response would differ from that of white males'(Nelson). This was a very questionable experiment that sought to measure how untreated Syphilis progress. Even when penicillin began to be a high effectively treatment, they did not offer the treatment. ‘On May 16, 1997, President Bill Clinton (1946–) issued a formal apology for the Tuskegee Syphilis Study with four of the study’s survivors present'(‘Tuskegee Syphilis Study Apology (1997)’). This denotes how unethical and inhuman was this experiment, and it draws a line for human experimentation. These experiments were too polemical and showed a side of humanity cruel, and disrespectful for life. People were treated like laboratories rat with a purpose of the study, or with the purpose of use it as a biological weapon using the subject as guinea pigs.
Syphilis despite is a disease that can be easily treated and avoid has still great incidence among people. More in the gay community, because of the unprotected sex, and the hookup culture. This is a phenomenon caused by the continuous growth of social media. Therefore, it is so important prevention and early diagnosis, which can prevent the spread of the disease to others. Also, it is immensely important that pregnant women get tested to catch, if it is the case, an early syphilis stage and cure the child and the mother before the illness develops into something more serious. Also, it is important to talk openly about this STD and many others, this way it is possible to avoid the spread of diseases, among people that for not knowing about the risks can get infected.
