Definition of Chancroid:

Chancroid is a bacterial disease that is spread only through sexual contact.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Chancroid is a sexually-transmitted infection caused by a type of bacteria called Haemophilus ducreyi.

The disease is found mainly in developing and third world countries. Only a small number of cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. Most people in the U.S. diagnosed with chancroid have traveled outside the country to areas where the disease is known to occur frequently.

Uncircumcised men are at much higher risk than circumcised men for getting chancroid from an infected partner. Chancroid is a risk factor for the HIV virus.