Syphilis-linked bacteria circulated in the Americas thousands of years before Columbus: study

Researchers have recovered ancient DNA containing bacteria related to syphilis — potentially pushing the known history of the disease back by more than 3,000 years, according to their study.

The findings, announced in a Jan. 22 press release, are the result of a study of 5,500-year-old human remains in Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia. The research was published in the journal Science this month.

Researchers analyzing the remains recovered a genome of Treponema pallidum, the bacterium responsible...