Treponema pallidum

Treponema pallidum is a parasitic spirochaete bacterium.  There are different kinds of Treponema pallidum, which cause diseases like syphilis, bejel, pinta and yaws.

The most common disease caused by Treponema pallidum is syphilis, a serious sexually transmitted infection.  

Syphilis is treated and cured by taking antibiotics. Usually, the first treatment used is penicillin. Antibiotic resistance has developed to a number of agents.Stamm L.V. 2010. Global challenge of antibiotic-resistant Treponema pallidum. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 54 (2): 583–9.   Ceftriaxone, a third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic, may be as effective as penicillin-based treatment.Kent M.E. & Romanelli F. 2008. Reexamining syphilis: an update on epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and management. Ann Pharmacother 42 (2): 226–36.  

Pennicilin is still effective, but "the potential of this spirochete to develop additional antibiotic resistance could seriously compromise syphilis treatment and control".

 References 

Category:Gram-negative bacteria