The Challenge of Syphilis to Science

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Abstract
A provocative philosophical essay on the challenge of syphilis to science in the present era, pointing out the many enigmas still facing us. The author cites errors of the recent past such as exaggeration of the numbers of Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions and disbelief in the phenomenon of re-infection following treatment of early syphilis. The pathogenesis of infectious relapse may be different in untreated and in inadequately treated patients. Immunity and the ability of the skin to react with lesions to the presence of Treponema pallidum are two of the factors involved. The author is skeptical of the practical possibilities of a vaccine, but none the less feels that efforts to develop a vaccine should be made.

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