Old World Medieval Treponema pallidum Complex Treponematosis: A Case Report.

This article focuses on the discovery and analysis of a Treponema pallidum complex pathogen in a seventh- or eighth-century male individual from Roquevaire, France, predating previously known European cases by several centuries. Using paleoautoimmunohistochemistry, direct metagenomics, and paleoserology, researchers identified bone lesions and specific antibodies consistent with treponemal infection, and recovered partial ancient DNA sequences related to but distinct from known T. pallidum subspecies. These findings challenge the long-held belief that syphilis and related treponematoses were introduced to Europe only after Christopher Columbus' return from Central America in 1493, indicating instead that multiple T. pallidum complex pathogens circulated in Europe well before that time. The study underscores the complexity of treponemal disease history in Europe and suggests the presence of ancestral or previously unrecognized lineages of T. pallidum in medieval populations.