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a chronic, inflammatory, non–sexually transmitted treponemal infection caused by a subspecies of Treponema pallidum; it mainly affects children in dry regions around the Mediterranean and nearby desert areas in Africa and the Middle East. Characteristics include early mucous patches of the secondary type localized to the oral and faucial mucosa, followed by the appearance of moist papules in the axillae and skin folds, a latent period, and late complications that may include osseous and cutaneous gummata. Called also bejel and nonvenereal s.Medical dictionary. 2011.