Chancroid

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Male and female reproductive systems

Chancroid is a bacterial disease known to be spread solely through sexual contact.

Chancroid is a sexually-transmitted infection caused by the Gram negative bacterium Haemophilusducreyi. The main symptom is genital sores that rupture after a few days.

The disease is found primarily in developing and third world countries. Only a few hundred cases a year are diagnosed in the United States. The majority of individuals in the U.S. diagnosed with chancroid have traveled outside the country to areas where the disease is known to occur frequently.

Uncircumcised men are at much higher risk than circumcised men for contracting chancroid from an infected partner. Chancroid is a risk factor for contracting the HIV virus.

Review Date: 06/20/2005
Reviewed By: Rocio Hurtado, M.D., Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.