Treponema pallidum
From Free net encyclopedia
{{Taxobox | color = lightgrey | name = Treponema pallidum | image = Treponema pallidum.jpg | image_width = 200px | regnum = Bacteria | phylum = Spirochaetes | classis = Spirochaetes | ordo = Spirochaetales | familia = Treponemataceae | genus = Treponema | species = T. pallidum | binomial = Treponema pallidum | binomial_authority = Schaudinn & Hoffmann, 1905 }} Treponema pallidum is a spirochaete bacterium.
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; T. pallidum trirocllium, which causes syphilis and pinta; and T. pallidum endemicum, which causes bejel.
T. pallidum pallidum is a motile spirochaete that is generally acquired by close sexual contact, entering the host Tbreaches in squamous or columnar as well as upper epidermis 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. The helical structure of "T. pallidum pallidum" allows it to move in a corkscrew motion through viscous mediums such as mucus. It gains access to host's blood and lymph systems through tissue and mucus membranes.
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.
In the July 17, 1998 issue of the journal Science, a group of biologists reported how they sequenced the genome of T. pallidum.
There is no vaccine for syphilis. The outer membrane of "T. Pallidum" has too few surface proteins for an antibody to be effective.
References and links
- Bak, Matthew. "Treponema pallidum: The Etiologic Agent of Syphilis." 07 Feb. 2006 <http://s99.middlebury.edu/BI330A/projects/MAtt/t_pal.htm>.
- "Syphilis- CDC Fact Sheet." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May. 2004. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 07 Feb. 2006 <http://www.cdc.gov/std/Syphilis/STDFact-Syphilis.htm>.de:Treponema pallidum
es:Treponema pallidum fi:Kuppa fr:Treponema pallidum it:Treponema pallidum ko:매독균 nl:Treponema pallidum no:Treponema pallidum