y stage of syphilis. The disease then enters a latent stage in which no outward signs or symptoms occur, however, the bacteria are active inside your body, multiplying and attacking internal organs. The latent stage can last from 20 to 30 years. When second stage symptoms completely disappear, the disease is no longer infectious. At this point, the "rule of thirds" comes into play. Among the total number of latent syphilis cases, one-third will go away on their own, one-third will stabilize, and one-third of the cases will evolve to the next and last stage. When the final stage, tertiary syphilis, does occur, it could be fatal. It may produce hard nodules, called gummas, in the tissues under the skin, the mucous membranes, and the internal organs. The bones are also affected, as well as the liver, kidney, and other visceral organs. Infection of the heart and major blood vessels accounts for most of the syphilis related deaths. A special kind of syphilis, which occurs in nearly 15 percent of the tertiary cases, is called neurosyphilis. It causes lack of muscular coordination, loss of urinary control, and degeneration of the reflexes. It also may cause pregnancy problems, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or to the birth of a child with congenital syphilis. Infected children often have typical signs, such as high forehead, saddlenose, and peg-shaped teeth. 4Syphilis can be diagnosed and treated with relative ease. Because of this, the past twenty-five years or so have seen a marked decline in the number of tertiary stage cases of syphilis and of deaths due to the disease. Syphilis is mostly treated by an injection of penicillin, or by a two-week regimen of tetracycline. Two follow-up blood tests two weeks apart from the initial test and two weeks apart from each other are needed to ensure the treatment was effective. ...
