Pinta (disease)
Classification and external resources
ICD-10	A67.
ICD-9	103
DiseasesDB	13270
MeSH	D010874

Pinta is a human skin disease endemic to Mexico, Central America, and South America. It is caused by infection with a spirochete, Treponema pallidum carateum, which is morphologically and serologically indistinguishable from the organism that causes syphilis.

Contents 1 Presentation 2 Diagnosis 3 Treatment 4 See also

[edit] Presentation

Pinta is thought to be transmitted by skin to skin contact (similar to bejel and yaws), and after an incubation period of two to three weeks, produces a raised papule, which enlarges and becomes hyperkeratotic (scaly/flaky). Three to nine months later further thickened and flat lesions (pintids) appear all over the body. These generally resolve, but a proportion of people with pinta will go on to develop late-stage disease, characterised by widespread pigmentary change with a mixture of hyperpigmentation and depigmentation which can be disfiguring.

[edit] Diagnosis

Diagnosis is usually clinical, but as with yaws and bejel, serological tests for syphilis such as Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) and TPHA will be positive, and the spirochaetes can be seen on dark field microscopy of samples taken from the early papules.

[edit] Treatment

The disease can be treated with penicillin, tetracycline, or chloramphenicol, and can be prevented through contact tracing by public health officials.

[edit] See also

• Pinta
• Bejel
• Syphilis
• Yaws

v • d • e Infectious diseases · Bacterial diseases: non-proteobacterial G- (primarily A00-A79, 001-041,080-109) Spirochaete Spirochaetaceae Treponema Treponema pallidum (Syphilis/Bejel, Yaws) · Treponema carateum (Pinta) · Treponema denticola Borrelia Borrelia recurrentis (Relapsing fever) · Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease, Erythema chronicum migrans, Neuroborreliosis) Leptospiraceae Leptospira Leptospira interrogans (Leptospirosis) Spirillaceae Spirillum Spirillum minus (Rat-bite fever/Sodoku) Chlamydiae Chlamydophila Chlamydophila psittaci (Psittacosis) · Chlamydophila pneumoniae Chlamydia Chlamydia trachomatis (Chlamydia, Lymphogranuloma venereum, Trachoma) Bacteroidetes Bacteroides fragilis · Capnocytophaga canimorsus · Porphyromonas gingivalis · Prevotella intermedia · Bacteroides forsythus Fusobacteria Fusobacterium necrophorum (Lemierre's syndrome) · Fusobacterium nucleatum · Fusobacterium polymorphum