Nonvenereal endemic syphilis

Nonvenereal endemic syphilis, better known as bejel or endemic syphilis, is a chronic skin and tissue disease caused by infection with the endemicum subspecies of the spirochete Treponema pallidum. Bejel is one of the endemic treponematoses, endemic infections caused by spiral-shaped bacteria called treponemes, a group that also includes yaws and pinta. Typically these infections begin with localized lesions on the skin or mucous membranes. Pinta is limited to the skin, whereas bejel and yaws are considered invasive because they can also cause disease in bone and other internal tissues.