University of Victoria microbiologist Caroline Cameron and colleagues have a patent for a potential vaccine candidate against syphilis.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted bacterial disease that dates back to at least 1495. Syphilis is treatable with antibiotics but remains an enduring issue due to its highly infectious nature. Worldwide, there are an estimated 11 million cases of syphilis each year. Current rates of the disease in BC are at their highest in 30 years.

The disease increases susceptibility to HIV and can cause irreversible tissue damage if left untreated. It’s also one of the leading causes of infectious stillbirth in low-income countries, leading to more than 205,000 fetal and newborn deaths annually.

”The pathogen that causes syphilis can pass from the bloodstream into the brain, and from a pregnant woman to her fetus,” says Cameron in a news release.

The vaccine component that has been patented is a protein aimed at preventing the bacterium from entering the bloodstream. Read more via Victoria News