In spring 1495, the Italian campaign of Charles VIII of France was interrupted by an intense outbreak of an apparently unknown illness—a disease of high mortality that quickly engulfed the whole of Europe and left its survivors with life-changing impairments to their bodies and minds. This documented epidemic is now interpreted to be the first historical account of syphilis.
The origin of syphilis is the subject of a decades-long debate. The late 15th century outbreak occurred shortly after the return of Columbus and his crew from their early expeditions to the Americas, which led some to believe that contact with new lands and people may have had something to do with the sudden disease onset.
Though many communicable diseases made a westward journey from Europe to the Americas during the early colonial period where they imparted devastating consequences on indigenous groups, syphilis is one of the few that possibly made the reverse journey.
This “Columbian theory” for syphilis has gained popularity over the years, but still has its critics. Its simple narrative starts to unravel when experts turn their attention to lesions seen in bones from Medieval Europe. Both long-term sufferers and those born with an infection can develop changes in their bones or teeth, and over the past several decades, a number of such skeletons have been found in Europe that predate 1492.
Many now believe the history of syphilis in Europe began long before Columbus, and the late 15th century pandemic happened for reasons independent of new contacts. But neither theory has been confirmed.
Analyzing five ancient pathogen genomes
Pathogen DNA
