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Our Yaws Main Article provides a comprehensive look at the who, what, when and how of Yaws |
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Definition of Yaws
Yaws: A common chronic
infectious disease that occurs mainly in the warm humid regions of the tropics
with characteristic bumps on the skin of the face, hands, feet and genital area. Almost
all cases of yaws are in children under 15 years of
age.
The organism that causes yaws is a spirochete. It is spiral
shaped, as are all spirochetes, and is termed Treponema pertenue. (A
different type of spirochete, Treponema pallidum, is the
organism responsible for syphilis).
Yaws begins when the spirochete enters the skin at a
spot where it was scraped, cut or otherwise compromised. At that site a painless
bump arises and grows. It is the mother yaw. The glands in that area
are often swollen (regional lymphadenopathy). The mother yaw heals,
leaving a light-colored scar.
The mother yaw is followed by recurring ("secondary")
crops of bumps and more swollen glands. These bumps may be painless like the
mother yaw or they may be filled with pus, burst and ulcerate.
In its late ("tertiary") stage, yaws can destroy areas of the skin
and bones and joints and deform them. The palms and soles tend to
become thickened and painful ("dry crab yaws").
The diagnosis of yaws comes to the fore in any child who
has the characteristic clinical features and lives in an area where the disease
is common. With increasing travel, a child once in the tropics may carry the
disease to a more temperate clime. Confirmation of the diagnosis is by blood
tests and by special (dark- field) examination under the microscope (to see the spirochete).
Treatment of yaws is simple and highly effective. A single shot of
penicillin cures the disease. Anyone allergic to penicillin can be
treated with another antibiotic, usually
erythromycin or tetracycline.
Yaws is a major public health problem in the tropics.
Tropical regions in Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Polynesia are
at risk for yaws. A high percentage of children can be infected. Transmission of
the disease is facilitated by overcrowding and poor hygiene, in the favellas of the cities of northeastern Brazil.
Yaws can be completely eradicated from an area by giving
penicillin or another appropriate antibiotic to everyone in the
population. This may, unfortunately, cost more than a poor country
can afford.
The term "yaws" is of Caribbean origin. Because the bumps of yaws
look like little berries, the disease is also called frambesia (or
frambesia tropica) from the French "framboise" meaning "raspberry."
Other names include granuloma tropicum polypapilloma tropicum, and
thymiosis.
Last Editorial Review: 1/7/1999
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