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Review
. 2021 Jun 5;21(1):528.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-021-06114-7.

Unusual erythematous plaque with white scales, a case of acquired syphilis in a child and literature review

Wen-Jia Yang  1 , Hong-Hao Hu  1 , Yang Yang  1 , Jiu-Hong Li  2 , Hao Guo  3
Affiliations
Review

Unusual erythematous plaque with white scales, a case of acquired syphilis in a child and literature review

Wen-Jia Yang et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Syphilis in children is uncommon with the mode of infection for this rare condition likely being congenital or acquired. While most acquired cases of syphilis in children result from sexual abuse, children can also be infected with syphilis through kissing, breastfeeding, sharing of daily necessities or pre-chewed food. Here, we report a case of acquired secondary syphilis in a child due to consumption of pre-chewed-food and provide a review of the literature on the characteristics of acquired syphilis in preschool children.

Case presentation: A 3-year-old girl presented with erythematous plaques and scales on her head, neck, and thighs as well as flat red papules with a moist, well circumscribed surface covered with a grayish-white film. The grandmother who cared for the girl was in the habit of pre-chewing food before giving it to the girl. The child and grandmother tested positive for RPR. The girl, who was not sexually abused, was diagnosed with acquired secondary syphilis, resulting from the transmission of pre-chewed food from her grandmother.

Conclusions: Our case report and literature review reveal that close contact among family members can result in the transmission of syphilis. We recommend that pre-chewing food should be discouraged by caregivers when caring for their children to avoid disease transmission.

Keywords: Acquired syphilis; Nonsexual close contact; Preschool children.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution and infiltration of erythematous macules with scales on the head, neck and thighs
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Moist and flat condylomata in vulva and perianal area
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Demonstration of multiple spirochetes from a scraping smear sample of the perianal area via direct fluorescent antibody test using FITC Anti-Treponema pallidum antibody (ab20719) with the dilution of 1:10
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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