Pinta (also known as azul, carate, empeines, lota, mal del pinto, and tina) is a human skin disease caused by infection with the spirochete Treponema carateum, which is morphologically and serologically indistinguishable from the bacterium that causes syphilis and bejel.
[2] Pinta, the least severe of the treponemal infections being limited to the skin, is thought to be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact (similar to bejel and yaws), and after an incubation period of two to three weeks, produces a raised papule, which enlarges and becomes hyperkeratotic (scaly/flaky).
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 of hyperpigmentation and depigmentation that can be disfiguring.
[citation needed] Diagnosis is usually clinical, but as with yaws and bejel, serological tests for syphilis, such as rapid plasma reagin (RPR) and TPHA, will be positive, and the spirochetes can be seen on dark field microscopy of samples taken from the early papules.
[citation needed] The disease can be treated with penicillin, tetracycline (not to be used in pregnant women), azithromycin or chloramphenicol, and can be prevented through contact tracing by public health officials.