Bejel, or endemic syphilis, is a chronic skin and tissue disease caused by infection by a subspecies of the spirochete Treponema pallidum. Families Brachyspiraceae Leptospiraceae Spirochaetaceae The spirochaetes are a phylum of distinctive bacteria, which have long, helically coiled cells. ... Binomial name Treponema pallidum Treponema pallidum is a spirochaete bacterium. ...

Although the organism that causes bejel, Treponema pallidum endemicum, is morphologically and serologically indistinguishable from Treponema pallidum pallidum, which causes venereal syphilis, transmission of bejel is not venereal in nature, generally resulting from mouth-to-mouth contact or sharing of domestic utensils, and the courses of the two diseases are somewhat different. Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in organisms. ... Serology is a medical blood test to detect the presence of antibodies against a microorganism. ... STD is an abbreviation used in several different contexts that stand for different terms. ...

Bejel usually begins in childhood as a small mucous patch, often on the interior of the mouth, followed by the appearance of raised, eroding lesions on the limbs and trunk. Periostitis (inflammation) of the leg bones is commonly seen, and gummas of the nose and soft palate develop in later stages. A gumma is a form of granuloma. ...

Bejel is mainly found in arid countries of the eastern Mediterranean region and in West Africa, where it is known as sahel. It is treatable with penicillin or other antibiotics, resulting in a complete recovery. The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... West Africa is the region of western Africa generally considered to include these countries: Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Côte dIvoire (Ivory Coast) Equatorial Guinea Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Chad, Mauritania, and... Penicillin is a β-lactam antibiotic used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible, usually Gram-positive, organisms. ... An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ...

See also

• pinta (disease)
• syphilis
• yaws