For a very long time, it was believed that Columbus's crew brought syphilis back from the New World, because it is frequently identified as a new disease shortly after his return. This theory of a New World origin was the subject of considerable investigation. Lewis & Clark's expedition asked questions everywhere they saw evidence of syphilis: how long has this disease been present? When was it introduced? Even in places where the Indians had not ever seen a white man before, but had not even heard of white men, syphilis had always been present. This was one of the many pieces of evidence that seemed to suggest a New World origin.
I have been reading for the last twenty years or so evidence suggesting that what may have been New World was not syphilis, but a particularly virulent strain of it. Yet more evidence is discussed in this October 25, 2010 Fox News article reports on a recent excavation of skulls in England that are clearly before Columbus, and have clear signs of syphilitic lesions.
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