If you touch a sore on an infected person, some of the bacteria will probably rub off onto your body. Once inside the body, the bacteria spread quickly through the bloodstream. Sometimes a baby is born with syphilis if the mother has the disease during pregnancy. The symptoms of syphilis vary according to the stage of the disease. During the first stage a smooth, red, painless sore called a chancre appears.
People usually get chancres near the genitals, but they can form anywhere on the body.
Women may not know they have a chancre if it is inside the vagina. Chancres on the penis can usually be seen. These sores may appear 10 days to 3 months after contact with an infected person. The sores last 1 to 8 weeks. If you are infected with syphilis and you do not get treatment, the disease will develop into the second stage.