Geneticists have confirmed the guilt of Columbus in the spread of syphilis

Theory that the agent of syphilis in Europe was brought from America by Christopher Columbus, was confirmed by genetic analysis. Loud the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Scientists from Kristin Harper (Kristin Harper) Emory University (EmoryUniversity) conducted in Atlanta used a phylogenetic method to establish the evolutionary relationship between different species, for the analysis of 26 strains of Treponema. The samples were collected in different countries, and among them were two previously unexplored tribes from South American country of Guyana. Among the tribes were like syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease and is caused by bacteria Treponema pallidum (pale treponema) and representatives nevenericheskih treponemal caused by other species of Treponema. Nevenericheskie treponemal (eg yaws, pinta and endemic syphilis), often transmitted in underdeveloped regions, mostly through broken skin or orally. With a pint of affected skin with yaws - skin and bones, and in endemic syphilis, skin, bone, and mucous membranes. The analysis showed that the oldest tribes in South America, caused yaws. Strains that cause venereal syphilis their close relatives, but appeared much later. "This supports the hypothesis that syphilis - or its predecessor - was brought from the New World" - Harper said. In its Opinion, Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that. Mutations nevenericheskih treponemes in colder European climates Data on the American origin of syphilis by the fact that the first known outbreak of the disease in Europe occurred in 1495, shortly after the discovery of America by Columbus and his return to his native support, the researchers noted.