Yaws

Yaws, disease caused by an organism related to that which causes syphilis. Common in the tropics, it occurs often in children and consists of a local lesion on the limbs; there is also mild systemic disease. Chronic, destructive lesions of skin, bone, and cartilage may develop later. When the Wassermann test is positive, that indicates the disease is present, and penicillin is the treatment of choice.