Affiliation:
1. Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
2. Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Abstract
SUMMARY
The agents of human treponematoses include four closely related members of the genus
Treponema
: three subspecies of
Treponema pallidum
plus
Treponema carateum
.
T. pallidum
subsp.
pallidum
causes venereal syphilis, while
T. pallidum
subsp.
pertenue
,
T. pallidum
subsp.
endemicum
, and
T. carateum
are the agents of the endemic treponematoses yaws, bejel (or endemic syphilis), and pinta, respectively. All human treponematoses share remarkable similarities in pathogenesis and clinical manifestations, consistent with the high genetic and antigenic relatedness of their etiological agents. Distinctive features have been identified in terms of age of acquisition, most common mode of transmission, and capacity for invasion of the central nervous system and fetus, although the accuracy of these purported differences is debated among investigators and no biological basis for these differences has been identified to date. In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially set a goal for yaws eradication by 2020. This challenging but potentially feasible endeavor is favored by the adoption of oral azithromycin for mass treatment and the currently focused distribution of yaws and endemic treponematoses and has revived global interest in these fascinating diseases and their causative agents.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Microbiology (medical),Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health,General Immunology and Microbiology,Epidemiology
Cited by
165 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献