It was one of the first global diseases, and understanding where it came from and how it spread may help us combat diseases today." Armelagos originally doubted the so-called Columbian theory for syphilis when he first heard about it decades ago.
1926. Syphilis in America Originated by Unnatural Practices with Female Llamas, Am. J. Dermat.
STDs are well-documented in antiquity across cultures: References appear in cuneiform tablets from Ancient Mesopotamia, as well as the Ebers Papyrus, a medical document from Ancient Egypt that dates back to 1550 BCE.
The endemic syphilis emerged from jaws by the selection of several treponemas, as a consequence of climate changes (the appearance of the arid climate) around 7000 BC.
The natural history of syphilis is one of a chronic infection that can cause a series of highly variable clinical manifestations during the first 2–3 years of infection, followed by a typically prolonged latent stage that can evolve into clinically apparent tertiary infection stage years or even decades after initial ...
There is no accurate molecular clock by which to measure the evolution of C. trachomatis. The origins of both sexually transmitted and ocular C. trachomatis are unclear, but it seems likely that they evolved with humans and shared a common ancestor with environmental chlamydiae some 700 million years ago.
Even when it doesn't cause symptoms for years or even decades, “it's still multiplying and causing damage,” she says. Getting tested and treated for syphilis is particularly important for pregnant people.
Gonorrhea can be traced back to the earliest records of the human race even if Albert Neisser first described gonococcus in 1879. The Romans, Jews and Arabs all have documents referring to gonorrhea and each society had their own description of symptoms and treatment.
Famous painters Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gaugin and Edouard Manet are known to have died from syphilis as well as classic authors Oscar Wilde and Guy de Maupassant Charles Baudelaire. Infamous gangster Al Capone eventually succumbed to syphilis as well.
In the early 16th century, the main treatments for syphilis were guaiacum, or holy wood, and mercury skin inunctions or ointments, and treatment was by and large the province of barber and wound surgeons. Sweat baths were also used as it was thought induced salivation and sweating eliminated the syphilitic poisons.
Humans don't have a monopoly on sexually transmitted infections. Oysters get herpes, rabbits get syphilis, dolphins get genital warts. But chlamydia — a pared-down, single-celled bacterium that acts like a virus — has been especially successful, infecting everything from frogs to fish to parakeets.
The first well-recorded European outbreak of what is now known as syphilis occurred in 1494 when it broke out among French troops besieging Naples in the Italian War of 1494–98. The disease may have originated from the Columbian Exchange.
The most dangerous viral STD is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which leads to AIDS. Other incurable viral STDs include human papilloma virus (HPV), hepatitis B and genital herpes.
Sheep, goats and cats are the most commonly affected. It is less common in cattle and lla- mas. Other animals species that can become ill include deer, guinea pigs, and mice. How can my animal get chlamydiosis?
People usually get gonorrhea from having unprotected sex with someone who has the infection. Gonorrhea is spread when semen (cum), pre-cum, and vaginal fluids get on or inside your genitals, anus, or mouth. Gonorrhea can be passed even if the penis doesn't go all the way in the vagina or anus.
Chlamydia suis infections are endemic in domestic pigs worldwide and can lead to conjunctivitis, pneumonia, enteritis, and reproductive failure. They have also been reported in humans, cattle, sheep, horses, cat, poultry (chickens, ducks, and geese in isolated flocks in China), and frogs.
Scientific Inquiry and a Cure
Finally, 15 years after that, in 1943, three doctors working at the U.S. Marine Hospital on Staten Island, in New York, first treated and cured four patients with syphilis by giving them penicillin.
J.E.B. Stuart, Joseph Goebbles and Frederick the Great each were infected with Neisseria gonorrheaoe, the cause of gonorrhea. Several of the US Presidents also could not escape the scourge of infectious diseases.
Syphilis existed in medieval Europe, and it caused the death of England's King Edward IV.
In the 1500s, this word referred to a rabbit's nest; due to the active sex lives of rabbits, the name was picked up as a slang term for brothels, a place where people engaged in regular sex and could spread the disease easily. If you had the disease, you had “clapier bubo.” This was eventually shortened to “clap.”
The article notes that years later in the 1500s, there was a widely recognized relationship between prostitution and gonorrhea, and this is when it got its nickname “the clap,” which derives from the French word les clapiers (literally meaning rabbit huts), which referred to “the small huts where prostitutes often ...
Slang: “the clam” “gooey stuff”
It is caused by a bacterium known as Chlamydia trachomatis and is often without symptoms. Chlamydia is frequently diagnosed in teenagers and young adults.
Chlamydia in the throat may cause white spots to appear in the back of the throat or tonsils. If you have swollen tonsils and any other symptom that resembles a strep throat infection, it may be wise to still get tested for chlamydia.
HIV (10+ years)
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one of the most well-known examples of an STD that can lie dormant.
Unfortunately the syphilis will stay without treatment and will continue to be spread through semen. Syphilis is spread through oral sex as well as anal sex, or deep kissing/rubbing and grinding if coming in contact with a syphilis sore or if semen is present.