Can a virgin have syphilis?

Question

My best friend thinks she might have syphilis. She has ONE strange bump, which, according to her, looks similar to one of these ( http://depts.washington.edu/nnptc/online_training/std_handbook/gallery/images/condylomata2.jpg ). I told her it's impossible to have syphilis if you're a virgin, which she is. (She's never had a boyfriend, and she's my best friend, so I'm pretty sure she's not lying about that.)
Her logic is that it MUST be possible to get an STD without having sex; otherwise, how did STDs originate?
So, who's right? Can a virgin have syphilis?

Answer 1

Yes. If a mother has it she can pass it to her child during birth. So yes you can be a virgin and have syphilis.

Anyone who comes into close physical contact with a person who has syphilis can develop syphilis. You don't have to have sexual intercourse to get syphilis—exposure can result from close contact with an infected person's genitals, mouth, or rectum.

Answer 2

Unless she had oral sex then she could have. Go consult a doctor on what this bump actually is. Don't jump to conclusions too quickly. If it is syphilis then she DID have sex or maybe there is a new way of having syphillis or something.

Answer 3

I am not sure if you can have syphilis and be a virgin, but maybe she should ask a doctor in case something is wrong.

Answer 4

you can have syphilis even if you are virgin, when you are sharing your underwear with a person who has syphilis

Answer 5

Syphilis is an infectious systemic disease that may be either congenital or acquired through sexual contact or contaminated needles.

Answer 6

Yes,if she is going around sharing underwear.

Answer 7

It could have been passed to her from her birth mother.