ABSTRACT
Bejel, or endemic syphilis, is a non-venereal contagious disease closely related to yaws and pinta. It was first fully described by EH Hudson in 1928, and is usually reported from the Middle East and Africa. Bejel is caused by the spirochaete bacterium Treponema pallidum endemicum, which is indistinguishable from the Treponema species responsible for yaws, pinta and syphilis. Yaws is a chronic infectious disease commonly found in tropical areas of Africa, South America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia. The disease mostly occurs in children under the age of 15 years and has been known since at least 1679 in the Caribbean, where it was called 'yaya'. Yaws is non-contagious and can occur after a long latency period, during which the disease may be asymptomatic. If the patient is allergic to penicillin, the treatments of choice are erythromycin or tetracycline. Pinta is an infectious disease, commonly affecting people in the age group 10 to 20 years in central and northern America.
