Syphillis

[zetlander]

Found the Death certifcate of a child who died in 1942 aged 6 months. Cause of death syphillis and cardiac failure.
Would this have been as the result of the mother having syphillis during pregnancy?
Was syphillis treatable/curable in the 1940's and if the mother was treated would any subsequent children be clear of the disease?
Thanks.

[portybelle]

I was quite shocked to come across that on a baby's death certificate too. Here is the thread where I asked about it with lots of useful answers;

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,522889.msg3778787.html#msg3778787

[Past Family]

Statistics show that about one in every 12 women had syphillis in the 1940's. Childeren born to women with the disease rarely lived more than a few months.  Women who had no treatment could easily have two or three children who died early and the disease could clear itself and they would have healthy children after a few years.

With treatment most children would be born healthy and survive. An example is one of my grandmothers. She had 4 healthy children then 3 others when she had the disease. These 3 all died within 7 weeks of birth. After treatment she then had 5 other healthy children.

[suzard]

1940's penicillin was discovered and used (still is -I believe) to treat syphillis sucessfully.

Early - mid 1940's arsenic injections were administered as one form of treatment

Suz

[Pandy]

I believe that in the 19th century many of the children who survived the early mortality attached to the disease were blind - hence the creation of schools for the blind and the training of many pupils as piano tuners - even in 1950s piano tuners were often blind.  (In the late 19th century ownership of a piano was part of the middle class dream - so there was plenty of work for tuners!) I think this featured on a WDYTYA programme on BBC TV.
On death certificates GPI or General Paralysis of the Insane was a euphamism for Syphillis.

[Valda]

Hi


A 1925 research paper on syphilis which gives figures for the preceding period.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1046421/pdf/brjvendis00260-0060.pdf



Regards

Valda

[Billyblue]

On death certificates GPI or General Paralysis of the Insane was a euphamism for Syphillis.

Hi Pandy
General Paralysis of the Insane is not actually a euphenism for Syphilis.
One gets it (if unlucky) as a result of syphilis, which is an infection.
There's also a particular type of arthritis that people can get because of syphilis but I can't remember its actual name just now.

Dawn M.

[Pandy]

Thanks Dawn - what I meant was that when you see GPI on a death certificate it was likely the cause of death was paralysis due to syphillis.  Sorry to mislead anyone.