New research seriously questions the idea that Columbus brought syphilis to the Americas

You may have heard it before: the claim that Columbus brought numerous diseases with him when he discovered America, including syphilis. But we now seem to be able to conjure the latter into the realm of fables; New research shows that America had syphilis-like diseases long before Columbus set foot there.

Scientists agree: the idea that Columbus introduced syphilis to North and South America has become a little more unlikely. Researcher Verena Schünemann contributed to the study. She explains: “Although the precise origin of syphilis is still unknown, we can say with certainty that American residents have suffered from treponematosis for centuries.” Treponematosis is a collective name for a number of closely related conditions: framboesia, syphilis, bejel (also called endemic syphilis) and pinta. These conditions are all caused by bacteria of the genus Treponema. The research has been published in the journal Nature.

Ancient skeletons
The scientists eagerly made use of four very old skeletons for the research. The skeletons come from Brazil and are now 2,000 years old. By very carefully removing DNA from the bones and examining it later, the scientists were able to find out how these people probably died. What seems? The laboratory technicians found traces of the bacteria Treponema pallidum endemic, a variant that causes bejel. Bejel is similar to syphilis, only with the twist that Bejel is mainly spread through skin contact. This is an important detail because syphilis is mainly sexually transmitted. Fellow scientist Kerttu Majander says: “The fact that the results show that this is a variant that spreads through the skin, and not through sexual contact, still raises the question of where exactly syphilis comes from. However, we only found traces of bejel, making the theory that Columbus introduced syphilis less likely.”

Family matters
Based on their study, the scientists also think they can say more about the precise family history of Treponema pale: the bacterial species with subspecies that can cause diseases such as syphilis, bejel and framboesia. These subspecies probably arose through horizontal gene transfer, or recombination. Bacteria exchange different genes with each other. By comparing ancient DNA from Brazil with modern bacterial DNA, researchers have discovered that this process occurred repeatedly. Researcher Marta Pla-Díaz has contributed to studying the DNA and can tell us more about it. “We cannot determine exactly when these recombinations took place,” she says. “What we do know is that this process (of horizontal gene transfer, ed.) is likely the cause of the variety of treponemal infections we see today.” Analyzes show that this diversity within Treponema pale must have originated somewhere between 14,000 and 2,550 years ago. This means that the pathogens that can be attributed to this bacterial species are considerably older than previously thought.

Return to Europe
The research is important because there are still fierce scientific discussions about the medical consequences of Christopher Columbus’s voyage of discovery. This not only concerns the medical consequences this had for the New World, but also possible medical consequences for the Old World. Another key question that medical historians are trying to answer has to do with Columbus’s return to Europe; Towards the end of the 15th century there was a sudden outbreak of syphilis in many port cities, and the question is whether Columbus and his crew were responsible. The researchers consider this unlikely, partly based on their new study. For example, they point out that there is much evidence that treponematoses were already widespread in Europe. Moreover, no sexually transmitted syphilis has been found in South America, Schünemann emphasizes. “This makes the theory that Columbus introduced this form to Europe less likely.” Where does syphilis come from? That is a question that Schünemann hopes to be able to answer soon.