What are the causes and symptoms of Reiters syndrome?
The cause of Reiter’s syndrome was unknown as of early 1998, but scientists think the disease results from a combination of genetic vulnerability and various disease agents. Over 80% of Caucasian patients and 50–60% of African Americans test positive for HLA-B27, which suggests that the disease has a genetic component. In sexually active males, most cases of RS follow infection with Chlamydia trachomatis or Ureaplasma urealyticum. Other patients develop the symptoms following gastrointestinal infection with Shigella, Salmonella, Yersinia, or Campylobacter bacteria. The initial symptoms of RS are inflammation either of the urethra or the intestines, followed by acute arthritis four to 28 days later. The arthritis usually affects the fingers, toes, and weight-bearing joints in the legs. Other symptoms include: • inflammation of the urethra, with painful urination and a discharge from the penis • mouth ulcers • inflammation of the eye • keratoderma blennorrhagica, these are patches of sca
