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syphilis?

by mani260, Aug 10, 2009 08:00PM
Why is the blood supply screened for syphilis? can you get syphilis from contact with infected blood during sexual activity, liek if someone with syphilis performs unprotected oral sex on a woman, can she get it that way?
Member Comments (11)

by 2terrified, Aug 10, 2009 08:06PM
Absolutely if a sore is present in the mouth.  Are you asking why this is the way to test for syphilis or why it is required in some states?

by mani260, Aug 10, 2009 08:06PM
To: everyone
sorry, I meant if a man who's bleeding from his mouth and has syphilis performs unprotected oral sex on an uninfected woman, can the woman get syphilis from the man that way?

by mani260, Aug 10, 2009 08:07PM
To: 2terrified
I meant why is the blood supply required to test for syphilis? and I meant if a man who's bleeding from his mouth and has syphilis performs unprotected oral sex on an uninfected woman, can the woman get syphilis from the man that way?

by 2terrified, Aug 10, 2009 08:14PM
I do not know that much about syphilis.  Syphilis is passed only with contact with a syphilis sore.  So, if the man didn't have a sore in his mouth, then no.  It is tested by blood because antibodies show shortly after infection.  I got this info from the cdc.gov website.

by mani260, Aug 10, 2009 08:17PM
To: 2terrified
are you definitely sure about this, or should i look it up? Because the blood supply IS tested for it, so i'm curious

by 2terrified, Aug 10, 2009 08:44PM
http://www.cdc.gov/std/Syphilis/STDFact-Syphilis.htm#spread

by mani260, Aug 10, 2009 09:29PM
To: 2terrified
yes,. i read that too, but i also read somwhere else that it CAn be spread by fluids. Why is the blood supply for donating blood screened for syphilis?

by Vance2335, Aug 11, 2009 10:18AM
I don't know why donated blood is screen for syphilis, I can only assume so the person who receives the blood will not test positive. Because one as you have syphilis it will always show in a blood test. And you will not actually test positive but it will show up that you had syphilis at one point but was treated. And I don't think they want to deal with that.
But it is only spread form direct contact with a sore.

by mani260, Aug 11, 2009 11:48AM
To: vance2335
Are you saying that if someone with syphilis donates blood, and then, the person receiving blood gets that blood from the infected person, that that recipient will then get syphilis? can you get syphilis from contact with infected blood during sexual activity, like if an infcted man is bleeding from his mouth, then performs unprotected oral sex on an uninfected woman, can the woman get syphilis from him that way?

Can syhpilis be spread through semen as well?

by Vance2335, Aug 11, 2009 12:17PM
No you do not get syphilis from blood but the anti-bodies produced stays in the blood. So that is why a test would show syphilis but the number would be very low.

Read what I wrote my last sentence in my previous post tells you how you get syphilis. That is the only way.

by 2terrified, Aug 11, 2009 05:41PM
What is the other website?  You know, there is a movie (that turned out to be true...the gov't recently compensated people) about the gov't using african american men to study syphilis.  They were lied to for the experiments to be conducted.  I do not know the name of it, but I do know Alfre Woodard was in it.  Syphilis has been around for centuries.  I would think that the information given on a goverment website that regulates these things to be correct.  They might lie about not knowing of a cure, but I don't think they would withhold information about how they are spread.
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