Inhumane Syphilis

First, it is important to define ethics and how its components play an extensive role in our society. The term ethics is defined as “Moral principles that govern a person 's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.” (Oxford); ethical decisions are the ones that per se determine whether or not murder is wrong. Likewise, ethics consists of different ramifications and perspectives from many philosophers. Moreover,

Ethics by definition is a system of moral principle. These principles affect how people make decisions and the choices they make in their lives. Ethics shape the way we live and what we do through our choices. All of us make ethical decisions on a daily basis which inform who we are and our morals.

The men were never given adequate treatment for their disease. Even when penicillin became the drug of choice for syphilis in 1947

In the early 1900s, the disease syphilis was a concern for the masses especially for individuals in the African American community. It was a common belief that

Ethics which refers to the question of right or wrong. The researchers before conducting a study should be sure about conducting a study or to carry out certain procedures.

In 1932, the United States Public Health Service initiated a research study to determine the natural progression of untreated syphilis in African-American males in Macon County, Alabama. This experiment which lasted from 1932 to 1972 comprised of 412 men with untreated syphilis and 204 uninfected men who served as the controls. This study of “untreated syphilis in the Negro male,” is a tragic, nontherapeutic experiment in research which has violated multiple ethical principles and human rights.

The Tuskegee study took place between 1932 and 1972 by the U.S. Public Health Service in Alabama. The study used experimental research to conduct the experiment which consisted of 600 black men, 399 with the syphilis infection and 201 without (Center for Disease Control Prevention, 2017). The purpose of the experiment was for the researches to record the natural history of syphilis in

Syphilis has been known to cause devastating epidemics. It killed a lot men and children way back when the cure of this is still unknown. Even though it is curable now, there are still people who are in misery facing this problem.

Ethical research provides a system of rules or principles that guide us in making decisions about what is right or wrong and good or bad in a particular situation. In research it provides a basis for understanding what it means to be a morally decent human being (Northhouse, 2013).

Syphilis is one of the highly infectious diseases that is transmitted by various means. Syphilis has been and continues to be an epidemiologic problem. Although the disease is regarded as a sexually transmitted disease, the disease is being transmitted in a variety of ways that involves contact with body fluids. The disease manifests itself in a variety of ways in its various stages and the impacts it causes in the body system varies depending on the stage of the disease. Syphilis is treated by administering the right antibiotics at any stage. However, the damage already done at late stages of treatment is irreversible. The disease has serious economic, social and psychological impacts.

Ethics deals with the responsibility the researcher has for their participants and the effects that the research can have on them.

In 1932 the United States Public Health Services, with the collaboration of physicians and medical personnel began the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment at the Tuskegee Institute in Macon County, Alabama. This occurred as the Rosenwald Fund for the study of syphilis in mass treatment withdrew its support for a syphilis control study; physicians then continued working with the patients without premises (Jones, 1993). The Tuskegee study then manifested and had no basis of searching for improved medication, improving health, or testing old forms of medication or treatment. In fact the point of the study was to collect data on the natural occurrences of untreated syphilis in African American males (Rubin & Babbie, 2013).

The only major component is that it prevalence varies widely among different hosts due to various risk factors. With age, syphilis is common among youths mainly within the age rage of 20 to 29 years old. This is due to the fact that this is when most people are most sexually active. Syphilis is most prevalent among African American men in the United States. The rate is “18.9 per 100,000 population.” (CDC, 2014). The rate of syphilis is much greater among men, and this according to center for disease and control is “11.7 cases per 100,000 males, compared to women which is 1.1 cases per 100,000

“And this disease of which I speak, this syphilis too will pass away and die out, but later it will be born again and be seen again by our grandchildren just as in bygone ages we must believe it was observed by our ancestors.” – Fracastoro, 1538 1

If treated during the early stages, syphilis is easy to cure with a penicillin injection. However if someone has been infected for a long period of time additional doses of penicillin are needed. It is important for people to know that treatment stops the infection but does not reverse any damage done and more importantly anyone can become infected more than