Syphilis

Syphilis (historically called lues) is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by a spirochaete bacterium, Treponema pallidum. Syphilis has many alternate names, such as: Miss Siff, the Pox, and has been given many national attributions, e.g. the French disease or the English disease.

Suffering from syphilis

A detailed although somewhat crude description of how one might have suffered from syphilis before modern antibiotics is provided in a limerick of unknown origin [1]. It begins with a man having a chancre; he goes on to develop secondary syphilis, losing his hair; following which he has all the common complications of tertiary syphilis and finally ends up insane due to neurosyphilis. The limerick also mentions his wife catching it from him and passing it on to his children.

Related Topics:
Antibiotic - Limerick - Chancre

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