Syphilis is a relatively rare sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the United States. with almost 130,000 cases reported in 2019, nearly 40,000 of which were in the most infectious stage of the disease.

One of the main problems with syphilis is symptoms in the early stages are minimal and, even if they are detected, could easily be mistaken for less serious maladies. Oftentimes, those issues disappear after a couple of months of their own accord. If you didn't go see a doctor during that period, syphilis moved into a latent period and it might be years before it returns.

The stages of syphilis


In the primary stage, you can expect a sore to appear in the part of the body exposed to the disease after a few weeks