Q:      Can syphilis affect a pregnant woman and her unborn baby?
A:      Yes.  The syphilis bacterium can infect both the pregnant woman and her unborn baby.  An infant born with syphilis infection may show signs or symptoms of the infection such as seizures, skin lesions, lesions of the nose and throat, inflammation of the lymph nodes, abnormal central nervous system development and bow shaped legs.  Many women may even deliver a stillborn infant due to untreated syphilis infection.

Q:      If a child is born with syphilis, can the infection be cured?
A:      Yes.  Children born to infected mothers have a greater chance of being infected with syphilis at birth (Congenital Syphilis).  There is a cure for congenital syphilis and the type of treatment administered would be determined from the medical provider of the mother and/or the infant. 

Q:      If an infant infected with syphilis is not treated at birth, what  problems will the child have as it gets older?
A:      Untreated congenital syphilis in children older than 2 years (Late Congenital Syphilis) may show some of the following signs and/or symptoms:  painful swelling of the joints, abnormal development of the teeth, gradual loss of the use of the legs, perforation of the palate, and cornea problems.  Even at this stage of syphilis, the infection can be cured, but the damage that has occurred to the body cannot be undone.

Q:     Can the VDRL test find syphilis infection after 9 years of first exposure?
A:       Yes.  The VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) test is a highly sensitive test used to screen individuals for exposure to syphilis.  However, although this particular test is used to screen for positive exposure to syphilis, a biologic false positive (BFP) result is possible.  Therefore, a reactive VDRL requires an immediate confirmatory test such as the Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody (FTA) or the Treponema Pallidum Particle Agglutination test (TP-PA).  If the confirmatory test is positive, your health care provider will take the necessary steps to ensure proper treatment of the syphilis infection.

Q:      Can one Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) turn into another one?
A:       No.  Although some sexually transmitted diseases may exhibit similar signs and/or symptoms, one disease does not become another.  Sexually transmitted diseases may manifest with different symptoms at different stages of disease and could possibly become a source for co-infection for another disease (ex. Primary syphilis sore is a direct opening for HIV infection).  Once a sexually transmitted disease has been diagnosed, it is extremely important to get medical treatment as soon as possible.

Q:      Is it possible to still get syphilis even if my sex partner uses a condom?
A:       Yes.  It is possible to still become infected with syphilis even if your partner uses a condom.  The first stage of syphilis is a painless sore called a "chancre".  This sore is spread through direct contact to a non-infected person.  The sore may appear in or on the mouth, vagina, cervix, penis, anus, nipple, fingers, etc. or any other part of the body that the original sore had direct contact with.  If an infected person has a syphilis sore on the mouth and kisses a non-infected person, syphilis is transmitted therefore using a condom would not prevent syphilis from passing from one person to another by mouth.