Literary portraits of syphilis are rarely positive, experts say

Syphilis - approximately 45,000 Americans have it, and very few are happy about it. In literature, the sexually transmitted disease (STD) has rarely been cast in a positive light, though there are exceptions.

Before the 20th century, syphilis was effectively incurable. The most common early treatment for the illness was oral or topical application of mercury, which can cause muscle spasms, memory loss and insanity, according to an article in the British Medical Journal.

Only in 1908 did scientists invent an arsenic-based compound that treated the disease, and in 1928 the first practical cure - penicillin - was discovered by Scotsman Alexander Fleming.

Syphilis is almost universally used to symbolize corruption or lechery in literature. An article in the journal Microbiologist gives a number of examples, like Lucio's reference to "thy hollow bones" in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and the character Pangloss's loss of an eye and ear to the disease in Voltaire's Candide.

An article in the Archives of Dermatology suggests that only a few Greek poets from the 1920s appear to have used syphilis as a positive symbol, though its authors indicate that at least one died of the disease.

Left untreated, syphilis can be fatal. Individuals who have unexplained sores or genital discharge may consider purchasing online testing services immediately, before becoming one of the 14,000 people who contract it each year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.