Clinical Chemistry - Syphilis

Syphilis is a chronic, contagious and often congenital venereal disease caused by Treponema pallidum. Infection results from contact with moist surfaces, originating in lesions of the epithelial tissue of the skin and mucous membranes. If untreated the disease may result in irreversible changes in the cardiovascular and nervous system. Syphilis remains a disease of high incidence, despite advances in modern antibiotic therapy.