Germs go both ways, baby

Since emerging in the 16th Century the exact origins of syphilis have been hotly debated. At first the Europeans blamed each other. Then it was thought that it was brought back from the New World by Christopher Columbus and his sailors. Others suggest that syphilis has been present in Europe for centuries.

Syphilis certainly became widespread about the same time as Columbus and his sailors arrived back from America. Yaws, bejel and syphilis all leave distinctive marks on bones. Analysis of a large quantity of skeletons from deaths prior to Columbus's time showed that whilst lots of New World skeletons showed signs of syphilis, few Old World skeletons did. It also showed that skeletons with signs of yaws were far older than skeletons with signs of syphilis. This was thought to mean that syphilis was a mutation of yaws that occurred in the New World.

However, some skeletons bearing the marks of syphilis have been discovered in the Old World that are thought to be dated from before Columbus's time:

* The skeleton of a woman aged between 25 and 50 was discovered in a graveyard in Rivendall, Essex, in the UK. Radiocarbon dating suggests that she died at least fifty years before Columbus returned from The Americas.
* The remains of a group of monks thought to be showing signs of syphilis were discovered at a monastery in Hull, UK. Radiocarbon dating suggested that they died between 1300 and 1400. However other scientists think that the radiocarbon dating was inaccurate due to the amount of fish the monks would have eaten. Others think that the monks were in fact suffering from yaws.
* The skeleton of a child, from the 4th Century, thought to bear the signs of congenital syphilis was found in Costa Bella, France. It has been suggested that this was in fact a case of lithopedion, or 'stone baby', a rare complication of pregnancy when the baby dies in the womb, and instead of being adsorbed into the mother's body it becomes calcified.

Other evidence against the Columbus origins of syphilis is that syphilis could easily be confused with other diseases. The sores could have been confused with leprosy. In the later stages syphilis could be confused with so many other diseases that it was known as 'the great imitator'. In fact mercury was brought back from the crusades as a cure for leprosy, it would not have been effective against leprosy, but it would have had some effect against syphilis.

Mercury was a treatment for syphilis?