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Published online 14 January 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.425
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Syphilis: spoil of the New World?
Genetic study blames Columbus for bringing syphilis to Europe.
For more than 500 years, Christopher Columbus has been alternately blamed and exonerated for bringing syphilis to Europe. Now, a genetic analysis of the disease-causing bacteria shows that today's syphilis is a close cousin to the South American tropical disease yaws, suggesting that the malady has its roots in the Americas.
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