Warning:

This document is being maintained for historical purposes, but is now out of date. To view current guidelines please visit:

• STD Treatment Guidelines   at http://www.cdc.gov/STD/treatment

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1993 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines

09/24/1993

SUGGESTED CITATION
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1993 Sexually
transmitted diseases treatment guidelines. MMWR 1993;42(No. RR-14):
{inclusive page numbers}.

CIO Responsible for this publication:
National Center for Prevention Services,
Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV Prevention

Management of Sex Partners -
     
     Sexual transmission of T. pallidum occurs only when
mucocutaneous syphilitic lesions are present; such manifestations
are uncommon after the first year of infection. However, persons
sexually exposed to a patient with syphilis in any stage should be
evaluated clinically and serologically according to the following
recommendations:

--   Persons who were exposed to a patient with primary, secondary,
     or latent (duration less than 1 year) syphilis within the preceding
     90 days might be infected even if seronegative, and therefore
     should be treated presumptively.

--   Persons who were sexually exposed to a patient with primary,
     secondary, or latent (duration less than 1 year) syphilis greater
     than 90 days before examination should be treated presumptively if
     serologic test results are not available immediately, and the
     opportunity for follow-up is uncertain.

--   For purposes of partner notification and presumptive treatment
     of exposed sex partners, patients who have syphilis of unknown
     duration and who have high nontreponemal serologic test titers (
     greater than or equal to 1:32) may be considered to be infected
     with early syphilis.

--   Long-term sex partners of patients with late syphilis should
     be evaluated clinically and serologically for syphilis.


     The time periods before treatment used for identifying at-risk
sex partners are 3 months plus duration of symptoms for primary
syphilis, 6 months plus duration of symptoms for secondary
syphilis, and 1 year for early latent syphilis.

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