TREPONEMATOSIS AND AFRICAN SLAVERY

Brief history of syphilis

Before the discovery of Treponema pallidum as the etiologic agent, the origins of syphilis have been the subject of several debates. Diverse therapeutic agents were employed in an attempt to cure the disease. Examining the milestones in the history of syphilis, the present article reviews the existing theories that tried to explain the origins of the disease, the approach in art, the cultural and the evolution of the treatments from the empiric means to the discovery of penicillin.

Skeletal evidence of probable treponemal infection in free-ranging African apes

The prevalence and patterning of inflammatory lesions of the skeleton were investigated in samples of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) curated at the Powell-Cotton Museum, Birchington, UK. One hundred and two chimpanzees (42 adults and 60 subadults) and 126 gorillas (50 adults and 76 subadults) comprise the samples. Twenty per cent of chimpanzees and 14% of gorillas were affected with a disseminated inflammatory skeletal condition caused by infection. The lesions appear to have originated as localized patches of new bone deposition on the surface of long bones and to have progressed to infection of the bone cortex and marrow. Although female prevalence of involvement exceeds that of males in both species, the differences are not statistically significant. The age distribution of affected animals indicates that the disease began in some animals as early as 2 yr of age. Given the skeletal and demographic prevalence and patterning of the lesions as well as the ecology and behavior of these animals, the most likely diagnosis of the condition is a yaws-like treponemal infection.

Genetic relationship between Treponema pallidum and Treponema pertenue, two noncultivable human pathogens

Genetic relationships among two strains of Treponema pallidum (Nichols and KKJ) and a strain of T. pertenue were determined by measuring the degree of deoxyribonucleic acid sequence homology. The results in indicated that these three virulent, noncultivable treponemes were genetically indistinguishable. Like T. pallidum (Nichols), T. pertenue (Gauthier) had no detectable deoxyribonucleic acid sequence homology with T. phagedenis (biotype Reiter), T. refringens (biotype Noguchi), or with salmon sperm.

Genetics of Treponema: relationship between Treponema pallidum and five cultivable treponemes

Three genetically distinct groups of treponemes have been identified by saturation reassociation assays using 125I-labeled treponemal DNAs. The three groups are (i) virulent Treponema pallidum (Nichols strain), (ii) T. phagedenis and its biotypes Reiter and Kazan 5, and (iii) T. refringens biotypes Nichols and Noguchi. There is no detectable DNA sequence homology (less than 5%) among the three groups. The groups have distinct guanine + cytosine contents: 52.4 to 53.7% for T. pallidum, 41.5% for T. refringens, and 38 to 39% for T. phagedenis.