Pinta (disease)

Pinta(also known as azul, carate, empeines, lota, mal del pinto, and tina) is a humanskin diseasecaused by infection with thespirocheteTreponema carateum,which ismorphologicallyandserologicallyindistinguishable from the bacterium that causessyphilisandbejel.The disease was previously known to beendemictoMexico,Central America,andSouth America;it may have been eradicated since,with the latest case occurring in Brazil in 2020.

Pinta (disease)
Specialty	Infectious disease

Signs and symptoms

Pinta, the least severe of the treponemal infections being limited to the skin, is thought to be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact (similar tobejelandyaws), and after an incubation period of two to three weeks, produces a raisedpapule,which enlarges and becomes hyperkeratotic (scaly/flaky). Lesions are usually present on the exposed surface of arms and legs. Local lymph nodes might be enlarged. Three to nine months later, further thickened and flat lesions (pintids) appear all over the body. These generally resolve, but a proportion of people with pinta will go on to develop the late-stage disease, characterised by widespread pigmentary change with a mixture ofhyperpigmentationanddepigmentationthat can be disfiguring.

Cause

Pinta is caused by the bacteriumTreponema carateum.It is related to the more well-knownT. pallidum,which can cause endemic syphilis.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is usually clinical, but as with yaws and bejel,serologicaltests for syphilis, such asrapid plasma reagin(RPR) andTPHA,will be positive, and thespirochetescan be seen ondark field microscopyof samples taken from the early papules.

Treatment

The disease can be treated withpenicillin,tetracycline(not to be used in pregnant women),azithromycinorchloramphenicol,and can be prevented through contact tracing bypublic healthofficials. A single intramuscular injection ofBPGis effective against the diseases pinta,yaws,andbejel.

See also

• List of cutaneous conditions