Local Transmission of Imported Endemic Syphilis, Canada, 2011

Fanella, Sergio; Kadkhoda, Kamran; Shuel, Michelle; Tsang, Raymond S. W.

doi:10.3201/eid1806.111421

Cited by 27 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Imported cases of yaws and bejel have been documented in children in Europe and the United States [30]–[32], and a case of local transmission of bejel was reported in 2012 in Canada among a family who had lived in a refugee camp in the Republic of Senegal and whose children were all infected [33]. Diagnosis of imported cases is hampered by the limited knowledge and lack of awareness among health care workers in western countries, who may need to include them in the differential diagnosis.…”

Section: Epidemiological and Geographical Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in the Diagnosis of Endemic Treponematoses: Yaws, Bejel, and Pinta

2013

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Improved understanding of the differential diagnosis of endemic treponematoses is needed to inform clinical practice and to ensure the best outcome for a new global initiative for the eradication of yaws, bejel, and pinta. Traditionally, the human treponematoses have been differentiated based upon their clinical manifestations and epidemiologic characteristics because the etiologic agents are indistinguishable in the laboratory. Serological tests are still considered standard laboratory methods for the diagnosis of endemic treponematoses and new rapid point-of-care treponemal tests have become available which are extremely useful in low-resource settings. In the past ten years, there has been an increasing effort to apply polymerase chain reaction to treponematoses and whole genome fingerprinting techniques have identified genetic signatures that can differentiate the existing treponemal strains; however, definitive diagnosis is also hampered by widespread unavailability of molecular diagnostics. We review the dilemmas in the diagnosis of endemic treponematoses, and advances in the discovery of new diagnostic tools.

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Section: Epidemiological and Geographical Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in the Diagnosis of Endemic Treponematoses: Yaws, Bejel, and Pinta

2013

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“…Although several minor genetic differences have been identified among the subspecies, the means to distinguish between these species remain limited (2,3). It is noteworthy, however, that a recent case report from Canada described the use of genomic techniques to demonstrate transmission of endemic syphilis in Canada (4). …”

Section: Treponema Pallidum and Related Agentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network National Syphilis Laboratory Testing Recommendations: Introduction

Tsang

Morshed²,

Allen

et al. 2014

Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiolog

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“…A nice example of the clinical use of molecular tools to diagnose an imported case of endemic syphilis in Canada is represented by the recent work of Fanella et al They first targeted bmp, polA, and TP0574 by PCR to detect treponemal DNA in a sample harvested from a patient's oral lesion and subsequently used both arp sequencing and the tprC/tprI RFLP assays to identify the etiological agent as T. pallidum subsp. endemicum (221).…”

Section: Direct Detection Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The primary stage of the disease was thought to have occurred in Mali, where the patient had lived before moving to France a few months earlier. Recently, Fanella et al reported a case of endemic syphilis in Winnipeg in a 1-year-old patient born to a couple who had lived in a refugee camp in Senegal for 20 years before immigrating to Canada (221). Further assessment of all family members (parents and eight siblings) revealed that all of the couple's children were affected.…”

Section: Imported Cases Of Endemic Treponematosesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Endemic Treponematoses

2014

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SUMMARY The agents of human treponematoses include four closely related members of the genus Treponema : three subspecies of Treponema pallidum plus Treponema carateum . T. pallidum subsp. pallidum causes venereal syphilis, while T. pallidum subsp. pertenue , T. pallidum subsp. endemicum , and T. carateum are the agents of the endemic treponematoses yaws, bejel (or endemic syphilis), and pinta, respectively. All human treponematoses share remarkable similarities in pathogenesis and clinical manifestations, consistent with the high genetic and antigenic relatedness of their etiological agents. Distinctive features have been identified in terms of age of acquisition, most common mode of transmission, and capacity for invasion of the central nervous system and fetus, although the accuracy of these purported differences is debated among investigators and no biological basis for these differences has been identified to date. In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially set a goal for yaws eradication by 2020. This challenging but potentially feasible endeavor is favored by the adoption of oral azithromycin for mass treatment and the currently focused distribution of yaws and endemic treponematoses and has revived global interest in these fascinating diseases and their causative agents.

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Local Transmission of Imported Endemic Syphilis, Canada, 2011

Cited by 27 publications

References 8 publications

Advances in the Diagnosis of Endemic Treponematoses: Yaws, Bejel, and Pinta

Advances in the Diagnosis of Endemic Treponematoses: Yaws, Bejel, and Pinta

Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network National Syphilis Laboratory Testing Recommendations: Introduction

The Endemic Treponematoses

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