- Bejel
Bejel, or endemic syphilis, is a chronic skin and tissue disease caused by infection by a subspecies of the
spirochete "Treponema pallidum ".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.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.Bejel is mainly found in arid countries of the eastern
Mediterranean region and inWest Africa , where it is known as "sahel". It is treatable withpenicillin or otherantibiotics , resulting in a complete recovery.Bejel is also known as:Belesh, Dichuchwa, Endemic Syphilis,Frenga, Njovera, Nonvenereal Syphilis, Skerljevo, Siti and Treponematosis-Bejel Type
ee also
*
pinta (disease)
*syphilis
*yaws
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.