Any person who has sex can be infected with chancroid. It is more commonly seen in men than in women, particularly in uncircumcised males. The first sign of infection is usually the appearance of one or more sores or raised bumps on the genital organs. They are surrounded by a narrow red border which soon becomes filled with pus and eventually ruptures, leaving a painful open sore. In 50 percent of untreated cases, the chancroid bacteria infect the lymph nodes in the groin.
Symptoms usually appear four to seven days after exposure.
An individual remains infectious as long as there are open sores present on the body. The infection is spread through sexual contact with open or runny sores of infected people. The bacteria are more likely to invade the sexual organs at the site of a small cut or scratch. Antibiotics are effective in treating the disease, with the sores healing in about two weeks. Not having sex is the only sure way to avoid getting chancroid.