The Third Great Plague / A Discussion of Syphilis for Everyday People

The author presents a layperson's account of syphilis, tracing its history and framing it as a modern public-health problem. Medical chapters describe the disease's natural course, detailing primary, secondary, and tertiary stages and the prevalence of infection. Diagnostic methods and the role of blood tests are explained, followed by discussions of treatments then in use including mercury and Salvarsan and considerations about cure. Separate sections examine congenital infection, modes of transmission, personal hygiene, and implications for marriage and prostitution. The text concludes by addressing moral attitudes, individual prophylaxis, and organized public measures for control and education.