Syphilis WORLD OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY538•
the patient also had syphilis. Hunter developed the sore indica-
tive of syphilis that now bears his name.
The distinction between the two diseases was made
clear in 1879, when German bacteriologist Albert Neisser iso-
lated the bacterium responsible for gonorrhea. In 1903,
Russian biologist Elie Metchnikoff and French scientist
Pierre-Paul-Emile Roux demonstrated that syphilis could be
transmitted to monkeys and then studied in the laboratory.
They also showed that mercury ointment was an effective
treatment in the early stages. Two years later, German zoolo-
gist Fritz Schaudinn and his assistant Erich Hoffmann discov-
ered the bacterium responsible for syphilis, the spiral-shaped
spirochete Treponema pallidum. The following year, German
physician August von Wassermann (1866–1925) developed
the first diagnostic test for syphilis based on new findings in
immunology. The test involved checking for the syphilis anti-
bodyin a sample of blood. One drawback was that the test
would take two days to complete.
In 1904, German research physician Paul Ehrlichbegan
focusing on a safe, effective treatment for syphilis. Ehrlich had
spent many years studying the effect of dyes on biological tis-
sues and treatments for tropical diseases. His work in the
emerging field of immunology earned him a Nobel Prize in- Ehrlich began working with the arsenic-based com-
pound atoxyl as a possible treatment for syphilis. Japanese
bacteriologist Sahachiro Hata came to study syphilis with
Ehrlich. Hata tested hundreds of derivatives of atoxyl and
finally found one that worked, number 606. Ehrlich called it
Salvarsan. Following clinical trials, in 1911 Ehrlich and Hata
announced the drug was an effective cure for syphilis. The
drug attacked the disease germs but did not harm healthy cells;
thus, Salvarsan ushered in the new field of chemotherapy.
Ehrlich went on to develop two safer forms of the drug,
including neosalvarsan in 1912 and sodium salvarsan in 1913.
Penicillincame into widespread use in treating bacterial
diseases during World War II. It was first used to against
syphilis in 1943 by New York physician John F. Mahoney, and
it remains the treatment of choice today. Other antibioticsare
also effective. Meanwhile, Russian-American researcher
Reuben Leon Kahn (1887–1979) developed a modified test
for syphilis in 1923 that took only a few minutes to complete.
Another test was developed by researchers William A. Hinton
(1883–1959) and J. A. V. Davies. Today fluorescent antibody
tests are used for detection. Although there is no inoculation
for syphilis, the disease can be controlled through education,
safe sexual practices, and proper medical treatment.See alsoSexually transmitted diseaseswomi_S 5/7/03 8:20 AM Page 538