Crew on Chritopher Columbus’ ships may have been responsible for spreading syphilis from America to the rest of the world, starting in 1493Image: CPA Media/AGB Photo/IMAGO
Antibiotic-resistant strains of syphilis are a problem today
Untreated, syphilis once disfigured people’s bodies and caused paralysis, blindness, attacks of pain, even death.
The development of the antibiotic penicillin in 1943 eradicated the dangerous symptoms of syphilis, if not the disease itself.
But syphilis lives on. Sexual transmission causes over 8 million new cases each year, while congenital syphilis causes around 200,000 still births. Cases are rising in young adults, too, and research suggests this could be linked to a rise in unprotected sex.
Antibiotic-resistant strains exist for T. pallidum, too, meaning deadlier syphilis infections are re-emerging.
That’s why studies like this are relevant, said Majander, especially if we want to eradicate syphilis: “[The study shows] that syphilis has the capability of adapting to any environment. It raises the question whether other treponemal diseases existed before, and whether new, more aggressive diseases could emerge in the future.”
Edited by: Zulfikar Abbany
Sources:
Barquera, R., et al. Ancient genomes reveal a deep history of Treponema pallidum in the Americas. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08515-5
Majander, K., et al. Redefining the treponemal history through pre-Columbian genomes from Brazil. Nature 627, 182–188 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06965-x
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Publish date : 2024-12-18 08:08:00
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