Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum DNA and RNA in Semen of a Syphilis Patient Without Genital or Anal Lesions

摘要

Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum DNA and RNAwere detected in a semen specimen of a syphilis patientwith no genital or anal sores and no clinically evident orchitis. No nucleic acids were found in a urine sample of the same patient collected immediately before the semen sample. Exposure to the syphilis agent through semen could account for transmission episodes in the absence of direct contact with a syphilitic sore.