Syphilis is most often passed from person to person through sexual contact. It can also be passed from an infected pregnant woman to her unborn child. Syphilis is treatable with antibiotics. Without treatment, syphilis moves through the body in stages, damaging many organs over time.
Infected persons are highly infectious during the early stages.
All pregnant women should receive a prenatal blood test for syphilis. Syphilis is caused by Treponema pallidum , a spiral-shaped bacterium called a spirochete. Syphilis is spread from person to person. A person gets syphilis from direct contact with a syphilis sore on the body of an infected person. Sores occur at the site of infection, mainly on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or rectum.