Syphilis is caused by which organism?

Syphilis is caused by which organism?

• A. Treponema pallidum
• B. Borrelia burgdorferi
• C. Neisseria gonorrhoeae
• D. Chlamydia trachomatis

Answer: (A)

Syphilis is caused by Treponema pallidum, a slender, spiral-shaped bacterium in the spirochete family. This organism is transmitted mainly through sexual contact and can spread through the body, producing the disease’s characteristic stages. Treponema pallidum is difficult to grow in standard lab media, so diagnosis relies on specialized methods such as dark-field microscopy of lesions or serologic tests (non-treponemal and treponemal tests). The other organisms listed cause different infections—Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease, Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes gonorrhea, and Chlamydia trachomatis causes chlamydia—so they are not responsible for syphilis.

Syphilis is caused by Treponema pallidum, a slender, spiral-shaped bacterium in the spirochete family. This organism is transmitted mainly through sexual contact and can spread through the body, producing the disease’s characteristic stages. Treponema pallidum is difficult to grow in standard lab media, so diagnosis relies on specialized methods such as dark-field microscopy of lesions or serologic tests (non-treponemal and treponemal tests). The other organisms listed cause different infections—Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease, Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes gonorrhea, and Chlamydia trachomatis causes chlamydia—so they are not responsible for syphilis.