yaws

yaws

an infectious nonvenereal disease of tropical climates with early symptoms resembling syphilis, characterized by red skin eruptions and, later, pain in the joints: it is caused by the spiral bacterium Treponema pertenue

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

yaws

[′yȯz]

(medicine)

An infectious tropical disease of humans caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue; manifested by a primary cutaneous lesion followed by a granulomatous skin eruption.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Yaws

 

a chronic and infectious spirochetal skin disease. It is common in almost all the tropical countries of North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, usually affecting the native rural population. The disease is caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue. Infection usually occurs by contact through injured skin and is fostered by unsanitary living conditions. The symptoms of yaws are granulomatous swellings (resembling raspberries) and ulcerations of the skin; lesions of the bones, accompanied by severe pain, are not infrequent. Yaws is treated with arsenic and bismuth preparations and with antibiotics. Prophylaxis entails observance of the rules of hygiene and improvement of sanitary conditions.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.