Abstract
Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (T. pallidum) is the agent responsible for venereal syphilis which may present with different clinical conditions at various stages of the infection [1]. T. pallidum subsp. pertenue, endemicum and carateum are closely related to T. pallidum and cause the diseases of yaws, endemic syphilis or betel and pinta respectively [1, 2]. Syphilitic lesions can appear in the primary, secondary and relapsing stages and in early congenital infection and treponemes are present in these lesion fluids [2]. Serological methods for the diagnosis of syphilis have gradually been improved over a period spanning many years but these are not usually positive in the early stages of infection when rapid diagnosis is important for prompt treatment to prevent transmission of the infection.
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References
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Natasha K. Ryan who provided valuable technical assistance and A. Levy for the statistical analysis.
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Harnett, G.B., Cattell, J.A., Perris, T.M., Chidlow, G.R. (2010). Treponema pallidum. In: Schuller, M., Sloots, T., James, G., Halliday, C., Carter, I. (eds) PCR for Clinical Microbiology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9039-3_27
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9039-3_27
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