Syphilis & MSM (Men Who Have Sex With Men) - CDC Fact Sheet
Once nearly eliminated in the U.S., syphilis is increasing among gay and bisexual men.
MSM Fact Sheet | View Images of Symptoms
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What is syphilis?
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It has often been called "the great imitator" because so many of the signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other diseases.
How common is syphilis?
In the United States, health officials reported 56,471 cases of syphilis in 2013, including 17,535 cases of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis. In 2013, half of all P&S syphilis cases were reported from 29 counties and 2 cities. The incidence of P&S syphilis was highest in women 20 to 24 years of age and in men 20 to 29 years of age. Reported cases of congenital syphilis in newborns increased from 2012 to 2013, with 322 new cases reported in 2012 compared to 350 cases in 2013.
Between 2012 and 2013, the number of reported P&S syphilis cases increased 10.9 percent. In 2013, 75% of the reported P&S syphilis cases were among men who have sex with men (MSM).
How do people get syphilis?
Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore. Sores occur mainly on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or in the rectum. Sores also can occur on the lips and in the mouth. Transmission of the organism occurs during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Pregnant women with the disease can pass it to the babies they are carrying. Syphilis cannot be spread through contact with toilet seats, doorknobs, swimming pools, hot tubs, bathtubs, shared clothing, or eating utensils.
What are the signs and symptoms in adults?
Many people infected with syphilis do not have any symptoms for years, yet remain at risk for late complications if they are not treated. Although transmission occurs from persons with sores who are in the primary or secondary stage, many of these sores are unrecognized. Thus, transmission may occur from persons who are unaware of their infection.
The primary stage of syphilis is usually marked by the appearance of a single sore (called a chancre), but there may be multiple sores. The time between infection with syphilis and the start of the first symptom can range from 10 to 90 days (average 21 days). The chancre is usually firm, round, small, and painless. It appears at the spot where syphilis entered the body. The chancre lasts 3 to 6 weeks, and it heals without treatment. However, if adequate treatment is not administered, the infection progresses to the secondary stage.
Skin rash and mucous membrane lesions characterize the secondary stage. This stage typically starts with the development of a rash on one or more areas of the body. The rash usually does not cause itching. Rashes associated with secondary syphilis can appear as the chancre is healing or several weeks after the chancre has healed. The characteristic rash of secondary syphilis may appear as rough, red, or reddish brown spots both on the palms of the hands and the bottoms of the feet. However, rashes with a different appearance may occur on other parts of the body, sometimes resembling rashes caused by other diseases. Sometimes rashes associated with secondary syphilis are so faint that they are not noticed. In addition to rashes, symptoms of secondary syphilis may include fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, and fatigue. The signs and symptoms of secondary syphilis will resolve with or without treatment, but without treatment, the infection will progress to the latent and possibly late stages of disease.
Latent and Late Stages
The latent (hidden) stage of syphilis begins when primary and secondary symptoms disappear. Without treatment, the infected person will continue to have syphilis even though there are no signs or symptoms; infection remains in the body. This latent stage can last for years. The late stages of syphilis can develop in about 15% of people who have not been treated for syphilis, and can appear 10-20 years after infection was first acquired. In the late stages of syphilis, the disease may damage the internal organs, including the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints. Signs and symptoms of the late stage of syphilis include difficulty coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness, and dementia. This damage may be serious enough to cause death.
Why should MSM be concerned about syphilis?
Over the past several years, increases in syphilis among MSM have been reported in various cities and areas, including Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California, Miami, and New York City. In the recent outbreaks, high rates of HIV co-infection were documented, ranging from 20 percent to 70 percent. While the health problems caused by syphilis in adults are serious in their own right, it is now known that the genital sores caused by syphilis in adults also make it easier to transmit and acquire HIV infection sexually.
How is syphilis diagnosed?
Some health care providers can diagnose syphilis by examining material from a chancre (infectious sore) using a special microscope called a dark-field microscope. If syphilis bacteria are present in the sore, they will show up when observed through the microscope.
A blood test is another way to determine whether someone has syphilis. Shortly after infection occurs, the body produces syphilis antibodies that can be detected by an accurate, safe, and inexpensive blood test. A low level of antibodies will likely stay in the blood for months or years even after the disease has been successfully treated.
What is the link between syphilis and HIV?
Genital sores (chancres) caused by syphilis make it easier to transmit and acquire HIV infection sexually. There is an estimated 2- to 5-fold increased risk of acquiring HIV if exposed to that infection when syphilis is present.
Ulcerative STDs that cause sores, ulcers, or breaks in the skin or mucous membranes, such as syphilis, disrupt barriers that provide protection against infections. The genital ulcers caused by syphilis can bleed easily, and when they come into contact with oral and rectal mucosa during sex, increase the infectiousness of and susceptibility to HIV. Having other STDs is also an important predictor for becoming HIV infected because STDs are a marker for behaviors associated with HIV transmission.
What is the treatment for syphilis?
Syphilis is easy to cure in its early stages. A single intramuscular injection of penicillin, an antibiotic, will cure a person who has had syphilis for less than a year. Additional doses are needed to treat someone who has had syphilis for longer than a year. For people who are allergic to penicillin, other antibiotics are available to treat syphilis. There are no home remedies or over-the-counter drugs that will cure syphilis. Treatment will kill the syphilis bacterium and prevent further damage, but it will not repair damage already done.
Because effective treatment is available, it is important that persons be screened for syphilis on an on-going basis if their sexual behaviors put them at risk for STDs.
Persons who receive syphilis treatment must abstain from sexual contact with new partners until the syphilis sores are completely healed. Persons with syphilis must notify their sex partners so that they also can be tested and receive treatment if necessary.
Will syphilis recur?
Having syphilis once does not protect a person from getting it again. Following successful treatment, people can still be susceptible to re-infection. Only laboratory tests can confirm whether someone has syphilis. Because syphilis sores can be hidden in the vagina, rectum, or mouth, it may not be obvious that a sex partner has syphilis. Talking with a health care provider will help to determine the need to be re-tested for syphilis after being treated.
How can syphilis be prevented?
The surest way to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis, is to abstain from sexual contact or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.
Avoiding alcohol and drug use may also help prevent transmission of syphilis because these activities may lead to risky sexual behavior. It is important that sex partners talk to each other about their HIV status and history of other STDs so that preventive action can be taken.
Genital ulcer diseases, like syphilis, can occur in both male and female genital areas that are covered or protected by a latex condom, as well as in areas that are not covered. Correct and consistent use of latex condoms can reduce the risk of syphilis, as well as genital herpes and chancroid, only when the infected area or site of potential exposure is protected.
Condoms lubricated with spermicides (especially Nonoxynol-9 or N-9) are no more effective than other lubricated condoms in protecting against the transmission of STDs. Use of condoms lubricated with N-9 is not recommended for STD/HIV prevention. Transmission of an STD, including syphilis cannot be prevented by washing the genitals, urinating, and or douching after sex. Any unusual discharge, sore, or rash, particularly in the groin area, should be a signal to refrain from having sex and to see a doctor immediately.
The CDC’s 2006 Sexually Transmitted Disease Treatment Guidelines recommend that MSM who are at risk for STDs be tested for syphilis annually.
Where can I get more information?
STD information and referrals to STD Clinics
In English, en Español
CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN)
P.O. Box 6003
Rockville, MD 20849-6003
American Sexual Health Association (ASHA)
P. O. Box 13827
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3827
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, 2015. MMWR Recomm Rep 2015;64(No. RR-3).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2013. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, January 2014.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Primary and Secondary Syphilis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men – New York City, 2001. MMWR 2002;51(38);853.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Primary and Secondary Syphilis – United States, 2003—2004. MMWR 2006;55(269-272).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unrecognized HIV Infection, Risk Behaviors, and Perceptions of Risk Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men –- Six U.S. Cities, 1994 -1998. MMWR 2002;51(33);733.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreak of Syphilis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men – Southern California, 2000. MMWR 2001;50(07);117.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notice to Readers: CDC Statement on Study Results of Product Containing Nonoxynol-9. MMWR 2000;49(31);717.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. STD Increases Among Gay and Bisexual Men. Reported at 2000 National STD Prevention Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. December 2000.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Resurgent Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Disease Among Men Who Have Sex With Men – King County, Washington, MMWR 1999;48(35);773.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV Prevention Through Early Detection and Treatment of Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases - United States Recommendations of the Advisory Committee for HIV and STD Prevention. MMWR 1998;47(RR12);1.
K. Holmes, P. Mardh, P. Sparling et al (eds). Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 3rd Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999, chapters 33-36.
- Page last reviewed: March 6, 2009
- Page last updated: June 4, 2015
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