Said that in the 18th century, the philosopher Voltaire called the discoverer of the Americas, Christopher Columbus, as carriers of syphilis to Europe in the 15th century. Now, a study to prove the same thing.
Recorded syphilis venereal disease was first discovered among the French mercenaries who arrived in Naples, Italy, in 1495. From Naples, syphilis then expand to the rest of Europe.
At the end of the 15th century, syphilis was commonly known as the 'Spanish disease' in Scotland, Belgium, and Portugal. While Italy, Germany and Britain called it a "disease of Naples'.
Well, two years before the disease was recorded in Naples that is 1493, Columbus had just returned from his adventure to the New World, America.
Historians believe that the mercenary army that was the crew of Columbus who contracted the disease from Native American women.
But the evidence is very common. In fact, many experts argue, syphilis originated in Europe, then brought to America, mutate and then brought back to Europe.
That's based on phylogenetic evidence, a science that examines the evolutionary chain between organisms. A team led by Kristin Harper of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, who did it. The team compared the different types of families of bacteria called treponemes that cause syphilis and related diseases 3 of 26 places around the world.
They found syphilis is the latest family member of treponeme. Syphilis is a close cousin of a tropical disease called yaws or yaws. Yaws is a more benign skin disease from syphilis and was transmitted through sex.
The hypothesis the researchers were, Columbus crew is infected with yaws, then the bacteria to travel deep into the cooler and drier in Europe and develop into syphilis.
"When this genetic data combined with extensive documentary evidence, the hypothesis of Columbus for syphilis is getting stronger," says the study, as quoted by AFP on Thursday (17/01/2008).
Or yaws yaws itself are also not native to America. Yaws from syphilis caused by Treponema pallidum that, which were not initially infected. Then the bacteria were brought to the New World and evolved so yaws.
After developing a disease that infects so, then the sailors were brought back to Europe. Treponema pallidum also raged into diseases such as syphilis are known now.
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