Syphilis, also known as lues, is a disease caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum. Before the discovery of penicillin, syphilis was a fatal disease. Today the use of antibiotics can cure the disease completely. Patients with primary syphilis present a single and painless wound in the skin, sometimes called chancre, in the region where the treponema has penetrated; the chancre is highly infective. Syphilis is one of the main STDs, sexually transmitted diseases. Generally the chancre develops in the penis, vagina, anus, hands or mouth, and the bacteria is often transmitted by sexual contact. Later syphilis develops into systemic diseases, secondary and tertiary syphilis.
Syphilis can also be transmitted by blood transfusions, accidents with contaminated objects and vertically from the mother to the child (congenital syphilis). It is very important for patients with the disease to seek treatment as soon as possible and to undergo tests to look for other STDs, like HPV and HIV infections.