Externally Peer Reviewed by the Iowa Department of Public Health Also known as Syph, the pox, bad blood, etc. This is caused by a spirochete called Treponema pallidum . It Having sexual intercourse, oral sex or anal sex with a person who has a sore or rash caused by the infection.
Babies catch it before birth or during birth if the mother is infected.
Because men and women may not notice early symptoms, if you think someone might have infected you, go right away to a doctor or clinic to be tested. In the first stage there is a single, painless sore where the germ entered the person's body. Many people do not notice this sore. In the second stage there is a rash, and symptoms like the flu. In the late stage the germ can affect the brain, heart, eyes or other parts of a person's body.