noun phaseÂ·out \ËfÄz-ËauÌt\. : the act of stopping something gradually over a period of time in a planned series of steps or phases.
C. Incubation period: Usually 3 weeks, ranges from 10 days to 3 months for primary symptoms. D. Period of communicability: Moist mucocutaneous lesions of primary and secondary syphilis are infectious. However, it is difficult to differentiate between the infectious stage and the noninfectious early latent stage.
latent syphilis. a stage of syphilis infection in which no clinical symptoms appear, although serological tests indicate the presence of the syphilis spirochete. Latent syphilis occurs in two phases following secondary syphilis. The early phase occurs within 1 year of infection, and the late phase occurs after 1 year of infection.