Throughout the ages, although the origins continue to be debated to this day, the strength and power of the disease has rarely been questioned. Syphilis, although not considered a huge threat due to the decline in cases in the mid-1990s, needs to be taken more seriously by the public because it is more dangerous than many realize, particularly because it is extremely contagious. Extremely elegant in the symptoms it produces, it has played a more significant role in history than many realize, and there is a certain stigma surrounding the disease, which in turn keeps individuals away from undergoing necessary testing . this would alert an educated individual to the seriousness and danger of syphilis – the bacteria that causes syphilis, Treponema pallidum, appears to be nothing more than a simple bacteria. The bacteria has a spiral shape and is classified as Gram negative (meaning it does not have a thick peptidoglycan layer in its cell wall). Syphilis infects its victims in a limited number of ways – the most common, however, is through irritated, cracked skin and mucous membranes. For this reason, syphilis is transmitted so effectively through sexual contact and sexual activity that it is primarily known as a sexually transmitted infection (STI). However, syphilis is not limited to just the modes mentioned above. The disease is also transmitted effectively through blood transfusions, not to mention the transmission of syphilis from mother to child in the womb during pregnancy (CDC 2007). The history of syphilis itself is tangled and wrapped up in the history of other, social, illnesses. movements and sciences. In...... middle of paper ......98560903295709McGough, L. (2010). Gender, sexuality and syphilis in early modern Venice: the illness that became permanent. Basingstoke [England]; New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Kershaw, S. (August 12, 2007). Syphilis cases on the rise in New York. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/nyregion/12syphilis.htmlMcNeil, D. (2011, September 14). Failures of American leaders noted during syphilis tests. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/health/14syphilis.html Kent ME, Romanelli F (February 2008). "Reexamining syphilis: an update on epidemiology, clinical manifestations and management". Ann Pharmacother. 42 (2): 226-36. doi:10.1345/aph.1K086U.S. National Library of Medicine. (September 15, 2010). Neurosyphilis. PubMed Health. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001722