Currently, syphilis is one of those diseases with ancient resonances, such as tuberculosis or gonorrhea, which are once again a reason for a health emergency due to its resistance to antibiotics . According to the World Health Organization, 5.6 million people are infected each year by the causative bacteria , Treponema pallidum , subspecies pallidum (TPA), which is transmitted through sexual contact. Antimicrobial treatments, which are still based on penicillin, often fail to kill it.
In order to better combat it, an international study, in which the researcher from the University of Valencia Fernando González has participated, has traced the evolutionary history of the pathogen and has traced its origin from current strains to a common ancestor of the 18th century . This finding is important, since a widespread theory holds that TPA came from America with the return of Columbus after his first trip and that it generated the first epidemic in 1495, during the war in Naples. The new dating points to the possibility that previously extinct strains existed in Europe.
In addition, according to the data researchers, who have published their work in the journal Nature Microbiology , the bacterium underwent mutations in the 1960s, a few years after it began to be treated with antibiotics . “The sequencing of ancient material would help to further understand the history of syphilis, and the application of the methodology developed in this study to current clinical samples will allow us to improve our knowledge of the current epidemic as well as to establish more effective measures for its surveillance. and control ”, explained González.
Another conjecture of the experts is that perhaps the symptoms of syphilis became milder after the first infections in Europe, but that at the same time its ability to be spread increased .
