Yaws was controlled by a single injection of penicillin and in serious cases by just two injections.
Yaws is a tropical infection of the skin, bones and joints caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum pertenueThe disease begins with a round, hard swelling of the skin, 2 to 5 centimeters in diameter.[3] The center may break open and form an ulcer.[3] This initial skin lesion typically heals after three to six months.[4] After weeks to years, joints and bones may become painful, fatigue may develop, and new skin lesions may appear The skin of the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet may become thick and break open.[4] The bones (especially those of the nose) may become misshapen.[4] After five years or more large areas of skin may die, leaving a scar.
Yaws is spread by direct contact with the fluid from a lesion of an infected person.[4] The contact is usually of a non-sexual nature.The disease is most common among children, who spread it by playing together.[3] Other related treponemal diseases are bejel (Treponema pallidum endemicum), pinta (Treponema carateum), and syphilis (Treponema pallidum pallidum).[4] Yaws is often diagnosed by the appearance of the lesions.[4] Blood antibody tests may be useful but cannot separate previous from current infections.[4] Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most accurate method of diagnosis.[4]
Prevention is, in part, by curing those who have the disease thereby decreasing the risk of transmission.[4] Where the disease is common, treating the entire community is effective.[4] Improving cleanliness and sanitation will also decrease spread.[4] Treatment is typically with antibiotics including: azithromycin by mouth or benzathine penicillin by injection.[4] Without treatment, physical deformities occur in 10% of cases.[4]
Yaws is common in at least 13 tropical countries as of 2012. The disease only infects humans.[4] Efforts in the 1950s and 1960s by the World Health Organization (WHO) decreased the number of cases by 95%.[4] Since then cases have increased and there are renewed efforts to globally eradicate the disease by 2020.[4] In 1995 the number of people infected was estimated at more than 500,000.[5] In 2016 the number of reported cases was 59,000.[6] Although one of the first descriptions of the disease was made in 1679 by Willem Piso, archaeological evidence suggests that yaws may have been present among human ancestors as far back as 1.6 million years ago