Four skeletons in a prehistoric burial site in Brazil contain the DNA of bacteria that are closely related to the syphilis bacterium, giving clues as to the infection’s origin
By Chen Ly
24 January 2024
A human skeleton at a prehistoric burial site in southern Brazil, where DNA of bacteria similar to the syphilis bacterium has been found
Jose Filippini
Bacterial DNA that is closely related to the syphilis bacterium has been found in 2000-year-old human remains in Brazil, making these the oldest known samples of such infections.
Syphilis is caused by a subspecies of the bacterium Treponema pallidum. Other subspecies can cause the infections yaws and bejel, which are similar to syphilis but not usually sexually transmitted.
Relatively little is known about the origins of these so-called treponemal infections. An outbreak of syphilis in 15th-century Europe led many to believe that Christopher Columbus brought the infection back from the Americas after his expeditions. But more recent evidence from human remains in Europe suggests it was on the continent before Columbus’s time.
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In the latest turn of events, Verena Schünemann at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and her colleagues have found the oldest evidence of a treponemal infection after investigating a prehistoric burial site near the city of Laguna in southern Brazil.
Thirty-seven remains, mainly incomplete skeletons, showed evidence of a treponemal infection, such as bone inflammation and lesions on the cranium. The researchers don’t know why the remains were so well preserved given the warm, moist conditions, says Schünemann.