Charlotte HartleyIn the late 1400s, a terrifying disease erupted in Europe, leaving victims with bursting boils and rotting flesh.
The syphilis epidemic raged across the continent, killing up to 5 million people. For centuries, historians, and archaeologists have debated the origin of the disease, with some blaming Christopher Columbus and his crew for bringing it back from the Americas.
Now, using DNA of the pathogen extracted from the remains of nine Europeans, researchers have found evidence that the epidemic was homegrown: diverse syphilis strains were circulating in Europe, perhaps decades before Columbus’s voyages.Today, syphilis and other conditions caused by the same bacterium, Treponema pallidum, such as yaws and bejel, are making.