Paleogenetics – People in Europe may have been infected with syphilis as early as the early 15th century. According to a communication from the University of Zurich (UZH), this would refute the common thesis that Christopher Columbus brought the disease from America.
UZH researchers found various subspecies of the Treponema pallidum bacterium in DNA samples from four human skeletons from Finland, Estonia and the Netherlands. A subspecies of this bacterium causes syphilis. Using molecular dating of the ancient genome and radiocarbon dating of bones and grave remains, they found that the oldest bacteria could have come from the early 15th century. The researchers working with palaeogeneticist Verena Schünemann report on this in the specialist magazine “Current Biology”.
The first reported European syphilis outbreaks in the late 15th century coincided with Christopher Columbus’ sea voyages to America. Therefore, many researchers assumed that the disease got to Europe from there. Others suggest that syphilis was brought in from West Africa through trade.
Frambosity was also common in Europe in the past
In addition to syphilis, the team also found the causative agent of yaws in the bones of the human remains. This infectious disease, which is also caused by a subspecies of the Treponema pallidum bacterium, only occurs today in the tropics and subtropics. “Our data show, however, that the frame bias was widespread in Europe at the time,” Schünemann was quoted as saying in Thursday’s message.
In addition, the researchers discovered another, previously unknown Treponema line in the skeleton from the Netherlands. This disease, which no longer exists today, evidently developed alongside syphilis and yaws.
Syphilis may have originated in Europe
By analyzing the genome of the various treponematoses, the researchers were able to conclude that the predecessor of all species must have developed at least 2500 years ago. The last common ancestor of all tribes dates back to the 12th to 16th centuries.
The knowledge of the entire Treponema family tree as well as the diversity of treponematoses discovered in the early modern period make possible an origin of syphilis in the ancient world, possibly even in Europe. “According to this, syphilis rarely broke out only through Christopher Columbus’ trips to America,” said Schünemann. “Perhaps we need to revise our existing theses on syphilis and other treponemal diseases.”
In a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, she and her team want to investigate the history of the spread of syphilis in Europe in more detail.
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