Syphilis is caused by ?

Appeared in: RUHS, Jaipur, PB B.Sc Nursing Entrance-2022

Explanation

Syphilis is a well-known sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by a specific type of bacterium.
The causative organism is Treponema pallidum, which is a spiral-shaped bacterium known as a spirochete.
Understanding that syphilis is a bacterial infection is crucial because it determines the course of treatment, which involves antibiotics like penicillin.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: Parasites are organisms that live on or in a host, such as lice or the mite that causes scabies. Syphilis is not caused by a parasite.
Option B: Viruses are infectious agents that cause many other STIs, but not syphilis.
Option D: Protozoa are single-celled eukaryotic organisms. The bacterium causing syphilis is a prokaryote.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Knowing Etiology of Syphilis helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
Identifying syphilis as a bacterial infection is fundamental for nursing practice, as it dictates that the first-line treatment is antibiotics, most commonly penicillin.
Nurses play a key role in patient education regarding STIs, including explaining that bacterial STIs like syphilis are curable, whereas viral STIs like herpes are manageable but not curable.
Antenatal screening for syphilis is a critical nursing responsibility to prevent congenital syphilis, a severe condition where the infection is passed from mother to fetus.

How to Approach the Question

This is a factual recall question that tests your knowledge of microbiology related to common infectious diseases.
First, identify the key subject of the question, which is 'Syphilis'.
Next, access your knowledge about the causative agents of major sexually transmitted infections.
Systematically evaluate each option. Recall or deduce the class of organism for each choice: Parasite (e.g., lice), Virus (e.g., HIV), Bacteria (e.g., E. coli), and Protozoa (e.g., Amoeba).
Match the causative agent of syphilis, Treponema pallidum, to its correct classification. T. pallidum is a spirochete, which is a specific form of bacterium.
Select 'Bacteria' as the correct classification.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Etiology of Syphilis
Stem keywords: Syphilis, caused by
Lead-in keywords: BEST, MOST RELEVANT CLUE
Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

QcVTuodIw_lQ-mtNGeuof6

Reference Book

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 2039-2041

E6 Medicine Harrison 22e Part 1 p. 1469-1471

E6 Medicine Davidson Principles Practice 24e p. 357-359

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