The origin of syphilis is not definitely known. Towards the end of fifteenth century, syphilis spread widely throughout Europe in a particularly virulent form. The name ‘syphilis’ was derived from a poem written by Fracastorius of Verona in 1530 describing the legend of a shepherd named syphilis, who had been struck with the disease.

It was widely held that syphilis was a new disease brought from America by Columbus’s crew. The natural history of the disease has undergone alterations since then by syphilis continues to be one of the most important and widespread of human infections.

Venereal syphilis is acquired through sexual contact. The spirochete enters body through minute abrasions on the mucosa or skin. The infectivity of a patient to his sexual partner is maximum during the first two years of the disease namely the primary, secondary and early latent stages. But after five years, the risk is considered to be minimal.