It can even cause death. Untreated syphilis during pregnancy can cause deformities in the baby or, in some cases, death. Widespread public health regulations require that all babies be tested for syphilis right after birth, and that any infected newborns be given treatment. Prevention Syphilis is passed from an infected to an uninfected person during sexual intercourse. Any person with a syphilitic sore can transmit the bacteria to a sexual partner.
Transmission can occur many years after the person carrying syphilis first became infected.
The sores can be inside the body, so it is often impossible to tell if a partner is infected. The surest prevention is to abstain from intercourse. A widely recommended precaution is to use condoms during each sexual encounter. Of course, limiting the number of sex partners reduces the chance of having sex with someone who is infected. Post-Columbian plague Most scholars today think that syphilis was present in all parts of the world from earliest times.