Treponema pallidum

Treponema pallidum is a spirochaete bacterium.

Related Topics:
Spirochaete - Bacterium

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There are at least four known subspecies: T. pallidum pallidum, which causes syphilis; T. pallidum pertenue, which causes yaws; T. pallidum carateum, which causes pinta; and T. pallidum endemicum, which causes bejel.

Related Topics:
Subspecies - Syphilis - Yaws - Pinta - Bejel

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T. pallidum pallidum is a motile spirochaete that is generally acquired by close sexual contact, entering the host via breaches in squamous or columnar epithelium. Rarely, it may occur in medical personnel. The organism can also be transmitted to a fetus by transplacental passage during the later stages of pregnancy, giving rise to congenital syphilis.

Related Topics:
Sexual - Epithelium - Transplacental

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The subspecies causing yaws, pinta, and bejel are morphologically and serologically indistinguishable from T. pallidum pallidum (syphilis); however, their transmission is not venereal in nature and the course of each disease is significantly different.

Related Topics:
Yaws - Pinta - Bejel - Morphologically - Serologically

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In the July 17, 1998 issue of the journal Science, a group of biologists reported how they sequenced the genome of T. pallidum.

Related Topics:
July 17 - 1998 - Science - Genome

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