 Untreated , it has a mortality of 8 % to 58 % , with a greater death rate in males . The symptoms of syphilis have become less severe over the 19th and 20th centuries , in part due to widespread availability of effective treatment and partly due to decreasing virulence of the spirochaete . With early treatment , few complications result . Syphilis increases the risk of HIV transmission by two to five times , and coinfection is common ( 30 – 60 % in some urban centers ) . In 2015 Cuba became the first country in the world to eradicate mother to child transmission of syphilis . 
