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Syphilis in an Infant Acquired by Mouth‐to‐Mouth Transfer of Prechewed Food
Author(s) -
Zhang Ruzhi,
Jin Huiling
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
pediatric dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.542
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1525-1470
pISSN - 0736-8046
DOI - 10.1111/pde.12954
Subject(s) - medicine , syphilis , transmission (telecommunications) , pediatrics , congenital syphilis , disease , immunology , pathology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , electrical engineering , engineering
A 2‐year‐old infant boy presented with a large ulcerative lesion on his tongue. The grandmother who cared for the boy was in the habit of chewing food before giving it to the boy and had active syphilis. The infant was diagnosed with acquired early syphilis, which had been transmitted by prechewed food from his grandmother. Prechewing food is a custom in most parts of China. Prechewing an infant's food could be an avenue of disease transmission, although this is not fully recognized. No studies have been conducted to evaluate prechewed food as a disease transmission route.